The Yankees have held productive discu sions with free agent right-hander recently, Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Theres no indication that a deal is close at this time, but USA Todays Bob Nightengale that the Long Island native had expre sed interest in pitching for the Yankees (though the team hadnt made an offer at the time). On the one hand, signing Stroman is a straightforward means of addre sing an obvious need for the Yankees. Beyond reigning Cy Young winner , the Yankees rotation is littered with question marks. Injuries torpedoed the bulk of s first season in the Bronx; he pitched just 64 1/3 innings with a grisly 6.84 ERA after signing a six-year, $162MM contract. Fellow southpaw was limited to a near-identical slate of innings (with better but still sub-par results a 4.97 ERA) due to injuries of his own. Former top prospect made 32 starts and piled up a career-high 159 innings but did so with a 4.64 earned run average. The Yankees traded to the Padres in the deal and saw sign with the cro stown Mets in free agency. On the other hand, Stroman himself is coming off an injury-ruined second half of his second and perhaps final season as a member of the Cubs. The two-time All-Star had pitched his way into Cy Young talks through the first half of the season, compiling a pristine T.J. Leaf Jersey 2.28 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and a ma sive 60% ground-ball rate in his first 16 starts a span of 98 2/3 innings. Stroman, however, allowed 30 runs over his next 30 innings before hitting the injured list with a hip injury. While rehabbing that, he was diagnosed with a rib cartilage fracture that kept him on the shelf all the way into mid-September. Stroman returned to pitch eight shaky innings and then opted out of the final year and $21MM of his contract. Given that end to his season, Stroman himself has some injury question marks. Beyond that, the Yankees in particular stand as a surprising fit to some extent, given general manager Brian Cashmans prior and unusually candid remarks regarding the right-hander. In September of 2019, Cashman that the Yankees held some interest in Stroman at that years trade deadline Stroman ultimately landed with the Mets before adding that they pa sed because they didnt think he would be a difference-maker and that the right-hander would be in our bullpen in the postseason. Perhaps some of that still holds true; the Yankees could well view Stroman as their fourth starter in the event that each of Cole, Rodon and Cortes are healthy. Then again, Stroman has pitched to a sharp 3.48 ERA in 514 innings since the 2019 trade deadline, fanning 21.4% of his opponents against a tidy 7.3% walk rate and complementing those marks with a terrific 52.5% grounder rate. Regardle s of where the Yankees feel hed slot into the staff, theres little doubt that Stroman is a clear upgrade for the teams rotation. Stromans performance has been consistently better than average, and his perennially strong ground-ball rates have helped him post low home-run rates throughout his career (despite frequently pitching in hitter-friendly settings like Toronto and Chicago). The Yankees, whose own home park is friendly to hitters, have shown a strong preference for grounder-heavy pitchers in the bullpen (e.g. , , , ), so it stands to reason thatd carry over to at least some extent in the rotation as well. Edmond Sumner Jersey