Just In: Yankees Acquired Another Top Talented Strong Man On Free agency
A top pitcher in free agency has “serious interest” in signing with the New York Yankees but the organization reportedly passed on the opportunity despite a priority to bolster their starting rotation this winter.
The next few weeks should be very interesting for the Yankees. The organization entered the offseason with several needs and addressed a few of them in one fell swoop when they made a blockbuster trade for All-Star outfielder Juan Soto. Yet, while the young star will improve their lineup immensely, upgrading the rotation was a priority this winter.
That is why the organization made a hard push to sign gifted Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto last month. However, despite being one of the favorites in the chase, the Yankees came up short of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nevertheless, despite the setback, the goal remains the same.
That is why New York has been linked to top-line free agents like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery in recent days. Furthermore, there have been rumblings over the last week that the team is also pursuing a blockbuster trade for Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease. A big addition is likely after it was revealed over the weekend that controlling owner Hal Steinbrenner is fully behind making a significant pitching acquisition soon.
However, one player they will not be signing is Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs veteran Marcus Stroman. On Sunday, USA Today MLB insider Bob Nightengale reported that “Marcus Stroman has informed the Yankees he’s seriously interested in signing with them.” However, it seems — at least for now — the organization chose not to make the 32-year-old New York native an offer.
The Yankees know Stroman well as he became a star during his first six and a half seasons with the Blue Jays before being traded to inner-city rivals the Mets. He had a strong season for the Cubs in 2023 and earned All-Star honors. However, he opted out of the final year of his deal and rubbed many fans and Chicago executives the wrong way with comments about his long-term contract situation during the season.
The relationship between Aroldis Chapman and Andrew McCutchen is one founded on competitiveness — with a dose of a fastball (or two) that went up and inside. After all, the two were staples in a divisional rivalry between the Cincinnati Reds (Chapman) and Pittsburgh Pirates (McCutchen) from 2010-15 and Chapman was the closer trying to silence McCutchen’s powerful bat.
In 2012, Chapman let go of a 98-mph fastball that nailed McCutchen in the shoulder, and at the time, it riled up fans and McCutchen, who called it “a little intentional” before watching the replay and seeing a nod of apology from Chapman.
The two were able to further patch up any hard feelings from their battles when they played together for the New York Yankees in 2018.
“Yeah, obviously, we had an incident going back to when I was with the Reds,” said Chapman, who signed a $10.5 million contract with the Pirates this offseason, via a translator Wednesday. “But those are things that are part of life in baseball. You get caught up in the games. But from my time with him at the Yankees, I can say he’s an excellent person. He’s an excellent ballplayer. I’m glad I was able to build a relationship there with him.”
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Chapman was front and center for plenty of beanball wars when he was with the Reds. Andrew McCutchen insisted Chapman was headhunting and made his feelings about it known, though the two seemingly got over that long ago.
Chapman’s overpowering fastball-heavy repertoire has certainly gotten the best of McCutchen, who has three hits (one home run) in 17 plate appearances against the left-hander.
Now, Chapman, who has played parts of seven seasons with the Yankees, will join McCutchen again. He hopes to impart his World Series-winning experience (he has two) to the Pirates, who last won a championship in 1979 and last reached the playoffs in 2015.
