New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman appeared to purge his Instagram account as trade rumors involving the two-time All-Star continue to swirl around Major League Baseball.
Stroman now has zero posts on Instagram, and also has a profile picture of a dark horse.
While it’s obviously unclear what this means, Stroman currently finds himself in tons of trade rumors as the 2025 season nears.
Stroman, who is owed $18.3 million this year with a vesting option for 2026, isn’t exactly a cheap option for opposing teams. However, if the Yankees were to pay some of his contract down, he would be a solid option for a team in need of starting pitching.
Stroman’s name has come up a lot in trade reports recently.
“They (the Yankees) are actively trying to deal starter Marcus Stroman and clear his $18 million salary,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported on Jan. 7.
“The Yankees are still trying to trade Marcus Stroman and are willing to pay down his $18M salary,” Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported last week.
Most recently, ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that there’s “an assumption” Stroman will be moved at some point.
“There is an assumption among other teams that Jordan Montgomery and Marcus Stroman will move at some point, but there are execs who believe that won’t happen until the Diamondbacks and Yankees agree to swallow a lot of money to make a deal happen,” Olney wrote.
“The Stroman talks will be greatly complicated by his vesting option: If he throws 140 innings in 2025, he’ll have a player option to make $18.3 million next year.”
It’s clear that Stroman is a name being thrown around, which means his time with the Yankees could very well come to an end before next season.
Stroman joined the Yankees last offseason on a two-year, $37 million contract with that $18.3 million vesting option for 2026.
He struggled in his first year in The Bronx, sporting a 4.31 ERA across 29 starts and one relief appearance. It was his highest ERA since 2018, when he had a 5.54 ERA across 19 starts.
While Stroman was solid in the regular season, he didn’t make a single postseason appearance as the Yankees reached the World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
Now, it appears the two sides could be headed toward a breakup, but it seems like it won’t happen until the Yankees agree to pay down his salary.
Stroman’s social media cleanse could be hinting at a potential move on the horizon, though.
