Marcus Stroman has unfairly been the center of trade rumors at spring training because the New York Yankees, after leaking said rumors, couldn’t work out a deal to their liking. And fans know they aren’t taking anything less than what they feel is acceptable. But that’s put the player in a bad spot.

Stroman’s had to answer questions about this. His teammates have had to do the same. Unless this is some sort of social exercise to test the Yankees’ mental fortitude early in 2025 with hopes it pays dividends in October, we truly have no idea why this was at all necessary.

Another layer to this discussion has been the random trade scenarios popping up on social media. Weeks ago, we caught wind of a Stroman-for-Nolan Arenado swap, but there were conflicting reports on its veracity. As of the last week, we’ve now caught wind of completely unsubstantiated buzz.

Per MLBScoops about a week ago, it was believed the Yankees were discussing a deal with the Mets that would send Stroman to Queens in exchange for former top prospect Brett Baty. At first glance, there was an issue with this deal, even if it seemed to “fit” what both organizations were looking for.

Yes, the Yankees want to get rid of salary and the Mets need a pitcher after the injuries to Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea. But … do the Yankees need another underwhelming, unproven option to stick at third base while also thinning their pitching depth? We’d say “no”, emphatically.

https://twitter.com/mlb_scoops/status/1894190782866767931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1894190782866767931%7Ctwgr%5Eafa9f2b5e36bf89567a42fe67188f0b49ea14499%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fyanksgoyard.com%2Funfounded-yankees-mets-marcus-stroman-trade-rumor-officially-makes-no-sense

Yankees Rumors: Mets-Marcus Stroman trade makes no sense for Bombers

But as of March 1, this absolutely makes no sense following the injury to Luis Gil. Stroman is now a necessary asset, whether it’s viewed as favorable or not. Despite the right-hander’s poor second half, he’s still someone who can give you 20 good starts in a single season if his workload is managed properly.

Stroman was once viewed as the team’s sixth starter, which felt like an unnecessary $18 million cost. Then when Will Warren began to emerge, Stroman’s salary really felt excessive, assuming all the right pieces would fall into place.

But now Gil is headed for an MRI on his shoulder after experiencing tightness. Carlos Rodón doesn’t look good (not surprising, nor is it anything to critique — it’s simply the reality). Clarke Schmidt has dealt with a back issue and missed over three months last season. Warren still needs to prove himself in bigger spots to become an everyday starter in the rotation.

The Yankees can’t afford to further thin their pitching depth, especially with the offense remaining somewhat of a concern. Giancarlo Stanton will likely miss extensive time to begin the season. There’s no starting third baseman at the moment. Jasson Dominguez still has yet to prove he can handle left field defensively. Paul Goldschmidt is eyeing a bounce-back season, but he’s 37 years old. Anthony Volpe is still looking to rebound after two poor offensive campaigns to begin his MLB career. We’re not pessimistic, but that’s a lot of questions to answer.

Run prevention will be the name of the game until the Yankees can get their offense on track (or, at least, see what they’re working with). Parting with Stroman as the rotation deals with a couple of injury concerns will only further put the Yankees in a precarious position.