Blue Jays’ Marcus Stroman loses arbitration, not happy about it

Marcus Stroman lost his arbitration case, which was announced on Thursday morning. He wasted little time in expressing his displeasure.

The Blue Jays have “won” their last two arbitration cases with their valuable young pitchers in Marcus Stroman and Roberto Osuna, but it’s hard to say if they’re actually winning anything with the results.

Marcus Stroman took to Twitter on Thursday morning to express his displeasure about the arbitration results for his contract, and he didn’t exactly how back on his thoughts. The talented right-hander was seeking 6.9 million in arbitration, and the team offered 6.5 million.

There has been plenty of debate if $400,000 is worth going to arbitration over, and Stroman just strengthened the case against squabbling over a small amount of money, relative to MLB salaries.

The 26 year old was arguably the Blue Jays’ most valuable player last season, eclipsing the 200 inning threshold for the second consecutive year, while leading an injury ravaged rotation. He finished 4th in the American League in ERA with a 3.09 mark, and finished with a record of 13-9. In a season that saw Aaron Sanchez miss all but eight starts, J.A. Happ spend significant time on the DL, Marco Estrada have an erratic performance, and Francisco Liriano get traded, Stroman’s value was essential in getting through the season.

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Based on the reaction he posted on Twitter, it’s pretty obvious that he feels disrespected, even saying “The negative things that were said against me, by my own team, will never leave my mind”. That could be interpreted as just using it as motivation going forward, but it’s hard to argue that Stroman is upset with the resolution of the arbitration process.

Unfortunately this is the second consecutive year that he’s gone to arbitration with the Blue Jays, and it’s hard not to worry about the damage that could do between the player and the ball club. With Stroman being such a key to the success of the 2018 Blue Jays and beyond, was it worth upsetting him, and/or saying negative things in order to save some money?

We don’t know what was said in the meeting, and there’s an argument that maybe Stroman should have kept these thoughts off of social media, but that’s never been his style and I have a hard time seeing that change. It’s definitely a situation worth monitoring as we go forward, and hopefully it won’t damage the relationship with Stroman, as his role with the team is pretty huge, both now and in the future.

Next: Blue Jays actively looking to add another starting pitcher

At the very least, it will serve as continued motivation for one of the Blue Jays’ most driven athletes. He’s made a habit of posting his work out routines during the offseason, and there’s no arguing against his preparation. Look for him to have another big season in Toronto, and hopefully it won’t be driven too much by spite towards his own team.