Trading for New York Yankees starting pitcher makes no sense for SF Giants

The New York Yankees would be happy to move veteran starter Marcus Stroman and the remainder of his two-year, $37 million deal. However, the SF Giants are one of many landing spots that just make no sense.

Trading for New York Yankees starting pitcher makes no sense for SF Giants

First and foremost, the Giants have enough starting pitching depth. On paper, they do not have the best rotation by any means. However, there are enough veteran options on the front side followed by a good amount of young depth on the back end.

Logan Webb anchors the rotation followed by Robbie Ray, Justin Verlander, and Jordan Hicks. In particular, Hicks is looking to establish himself as a workhorse in 2025 after making 20 starts in the first year of his four-year, $44 million last season.

Beyond those four, the Giants have more questions and answers. Even within the veteran group, there are questions about every starter aside from Webb. On the younger side, the Giants will be relying on Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong, Landen Roupp, Mason Black, and Trevor McDonald.

Carson Seymour and Carson Ragsdale were just added to the 40-man roster this winter and could be in line for starts as emergency options. Even Carson Whisenhunt could pitch his way onto the 40-man roster this season. At some point, the Giants need to show trust in their younger core and this season feels like a good opportunity to do so.

Aside from this, Marcus Stroman is coming off of a down year as he pitched to a 4.31 ERA in 30 appearances. The Yankees left him off of the playoff roster for much of their postseason run. He was added for the World Series but did not pitch.

The right-handed hurler has a lot of mileage on his arm at this point and no longer looks like the frontline starter he was earlier in his career. The Yankees would be happy to unload his $18.5 million salary for 2025. That is a steep price to pay for what looks like a back-end starter at this stage.

Plus, it bears mentioning that taking on the entirety of his salary would push the Giants right at the $241 million CBT threshold for 2025. They would like to come under the CBT threshold this season, so taking on that much salary goes against that goal even if it could net them a nice prospect package in return for doing the Yankees a favor.

Importantly, Stroman holds a vested player option for 2026. If he completes 140 innings this season, then his $18 million player option would vest. If he has a season like the one he just had, there is a high likelihood that he will exercise that option. One thing that the 10-year veteran continues to do is soak up innings, so there is quite a bit of risk that he would reach that mark this season. It is not just taking on his salary for this season but the possibility of taking on additional salary in 2026.

It bears mentioning that when teams look to shed payroll through trades, it is rarely as clear-cut as one team taking on salary. The other team would likely move some salary as well to lessen the burden.

That being said, Stroman's vested option is a pretty big roadblock for any prospective trade. Again, this is not to say that he would even be a fit for the Giants. Plus, he has some off-the-field baggage as well There are just too many reasons why he would not be a fit for the Giants.