The New York Yankees have done well to rebuild their roster after the departure of free-agent superstar Juan Soto. But before they bolster their roster further ahead of Spring Training, they’ll need to offload a significant contract.

As reported by Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees find themselves stuck in a holding pattern until they can shed Marcus Stroman’s salary. One of the issues with trying to pass on Stroman’s contract is that there are multiple starting pitchers still left in free agency with much more appealing profiles; rather than paying Stroman $18 million in 2025, teams are more likely to consider signing short-term deals with available pitchers like Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin, or Jack Flaherty.

In his one season in the Bronx, Stroman’s numbers left a lot to be desired. He found himself in and out of the rotation and was left off the Yankees’ ALDS roster in the playoffs. For the year, Stroman went 10-9 with an uninspiring 4.31 ERA and 1.47 WHIP across 29 starts.

The Yankees are still in the market to upgrade their current roster with a couple of glaring needs. The first is in the infield, where the Yankees have yet to fill the void left by the departure of Gleyber Torres. Another hole that needs to be filled is in the bullpen, where the Yankees remain without a left-handed reliever; a reunion with reliever Tim Hill has been discussed, but the Yankees are also being mindful of the current salary cap situation with Stroman still on the roster.

If the Yankees are hopeful to move Stroman, they will likely need to pay down some of his inflated salary. Some comparables to Stroman’s value include Alex Cobb, who signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the Detroit Tigers, and Charlie Morton, who signed the same contract as Cobb but with the Baltimore Orioles. Adding another wrinkle to the fold is a vested 2026 player option; if Stroman pitches more than 140 innings in 2025, it will trigger an $18 million player option for 2026. Teams will be wary of this and the Yankees will need to thread the needle with a trade if they want to move on from Stroman’s contract.