Blue Jays: The bridge with Marcus Stroman has clearly been burned

It’s looking pretty clear that Marcus Stroman has mentally moved on from the Blue Jays, with the latest proof coming in an openly critical tweet last night.

For as long as Marcus Stroman has been with the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization, he’s always been a vocal player.

Whether it was being a demonstrative pitcher on the mound regardless of if his opponents liked it or not, promoting his “HDMH” brand, or chattring with the media, he’s never been afraid to speak his mind or wear his heart on his sleeve. That’s been even more the case lately, as it would appear that the divorce between the 28-year-old and the only team he’s ever known has become all but inevitable.

Stroman is one of the top pitchers expected to be available on the trade market before the end of the month, and as a result the rumours have been pretty consistent. However, among the Blue Jays’ fanbase it’s been a pretty consistent debate about whether trading him now with more than a year left on his contract for maximum value is the right move for a rebuilding club, or if they’d be better off extending him. In theory the front office could still be asking themselves that question, but I think it’s safe to say that we’re past that now.

More from Jays Journal

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

The former first round pick hasn’t been afraid to speak out when being interviewed by reporters, as he’s talked openly about the lack of a contract offer earlier this season, and more recently alluded to enjoying the bright lights of New York, and even went as far as saying that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doesn’t want him to go.

On Monday, Stroman took things to a new level, and one that pretty much puts the nail in the possibility of his still being on the Blue Jays’ roster on August first.

The emotional pitcher weighed in on a thread that was talking about the future of the Blue Jays, when one user (@BluJays_) referred to a conversation that was happening on Sportsnet’s “Tim and Sid”. The tweet said “… they’re trading Stroman for cultural reasons”, and the star hurler didn’t hold back on the opportunity let us know how he really feels.

https://twitter.com/MStrooo6/status/1153417827434532874

On one hand I can’t blame Stroman for being a little upset about the way this has all gone down. We also don’t know all of the finer details, and it’s possible that there is an unknown reason that he’s particularly put off by all of this. On the other, this isn’t the greatest look for Stroman either, and he’ll want to make sure he’s a model citizen in advance of his pending free agency after the 2020 season.

I’m sure most potential suitors won’t mind his fiery personality, or that he’s occasionally outspoken, but some would call this straight-up insubordinate to talk about your employer publicly like this. That said, it’s not a great look for the Blue Jays, or their front office either.

For that reason I feel like the last shred of hope of Stroman sticking around was burned up on Monday evening. It was probably going to be that way before, but now I feel like the Blue Jays’ front office has no choice but to take the best package offered to them before the July 31st deadline. Hopefully the way this has all gone down doesn’t hurt their leverage too much, and they can find a solution that works for all parties involved. Right now it looks like they’re headed for a messy divorce, just as my colleague Clayton Richer said a few weeks back.