Blue Jays have put big price tag on Marcus Stroman

It sounds like Ross Atkins and the Blue Jays front office are setting their sights high if they’re going to trade Marcus Stroman.

The Blue Jays have set the price for starting pitcher Marcus Stroman rather high and why shouldn’t they with another year of control and a 2.96 ERA that ranks fourth in the American League?

The Jays reportedly asked the Yankees for infielder Gleyber Torres, a 22-year-old two-time All-Star, in exchange for Stroman, according to Bryan Hoch of mlb.com. They didn’t stop there, also looking into the Yankees No. 4 prospect, right-hander Deivi Garcia which seems to be a more reasonable request.

After the Yankees two most reliable starting pitchers, Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton, combined to allow 19 runs over 7.1 innings against the Red Sox, it seems inevitable the club will add another arm to its rotation by Wednesday’s deadline.

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

Stroman would fit right in with the Bronx Bombers and being from the state of New York, Stroman has repeatedly said he would love to pitch with the Yanks at some point in his career.

“New York’s like the Mecca of the world, right? I love excitement. I love bright lights. I love competition. I love pressure. I’ve always loved pitching here even though I haven’t necessarily pitched well here. I’ve always enjoyed it,” said Stroman while the club was playing at Yankee Stadium earlier this month, according to Lindsey Adler of The Athletic.

A rumour surfaced this week reporting the Blue Jays informed interested teams they were entertaining the possibility of extending Stroman rather than moving him. This was viewed by some as a tactic to create some leverage and have teams pony up a little more value in a trade but Stroman quickly shut this report down on Twitter.

Several teams have been checking in on the 28-year-old All-Star and if this was the asking price of the Yankees, you have to wonder what they have requested from other teams and particularly ones with deeper farm systems than New York.

Of course, the Blue Jays will prioritize the addition of young pitchers but will go the route of best player available should they be overwhelmed by an offer that centres around a positional player or prospect.

Rumours continue to swirl around Stroman as the deadline approaches and don’t expect things to slow down as we wait for the first domino to fall in the starting pitching market. Stroman is slotted to start Tuesday in Kansas City, but whether he’s traded by that point or not, I would be surprised to see him on the mound just a day before trade season closes for 2019.