Marcus Stroman’s $18 million salary making it hard for Yankees to fill holes

Last January, Marcus Stroman represented the Yankees’ biggest free-agent signing of the month. 

This January came and went without the club signing anyone to a major league contract, and while part of that is because of a slower-moving free-agent market for the areas the Yankees need to address, it also could have to do with them not yet finding a team to take Stroman and at least some of his salary off their hands. 

The right-hander currently projects as the club’s No. 6 starter, and while the Yankees are always trying to make sure they have enough pitching, Stroman’s $18 million salary is a hefty price tag as they hover just above the highest luxury tax threshold ($301 million) — with Cot’s Contracts estimating them to be at $302.9 million. 

The Yankees still have a few holes to fill before pitchers and catchers report to Tampa on Feb. 11 — notably a lefty reliever, an infielder to play third base or second base and perhaps a backup catcher — but it remains to be seen whether they will be able to find a home for Stroman before then.

And while it would only take one spring training injury to a member of the Yankees’ rotation to thrust Stroman back into the fold, an injury elsewhere could potentially open the door for a trade partner emerging. 

The 33-year-old Stroman is coming off a season in which he posted a 4.31 ERA across 154 ²/₃ inning — including a 3.15 ERA over his first 16 starts before pitching to a 5.97 ERA over his final 14 outings (13 starts), a span in which opposing batters hit .341 with a .867 OPS.