With Fried set to enter the Yankees’ starting rotation, New York will be fielding a five-man crew of Fried, Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, Carlos Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt. That is a formidable crew capable of pitching the Yankees deep into the playoffs. But with Spring Training on the horizon, there could very well be changes afoot for the Yankees. In particular, Marcus Stroman, who struggled in 2024, is looking to pitch his way into the rotation — refusing to come out of the bullpen.

While Stroman is on the outside looking in on the rotation at the moment, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman approved of the 33-year-old pitcher’s confidence and is looking forward to seeing how he can perform his way into the rotation.

“That’s vintage Stro. He’s a competitor. He’s fought his way through pro ball to being a hell of a starter for quite some time. And I agree with him, he is a starter. Let’s just see how everything plays out. Six weeks of Spring Training, there are typically a lot of twists and turns and winding roads before you get to Opening Day. We’ll deal with Opening Day when we get there,” Cashman said, via SNY’s Yankees Videos on X (formerly Twitter).

For someone who has been so involved in trade rumors this past offseason, it would be a major turnaround if Stroman were to pitch his way into the Yankees’ rotation.

Can Marcus Stroman bounce back for the Yankees?

Marcus Stroman is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career in 2024, recording an ERA of 4.31 across 154.2 innings of work — with his peripherals being very worrying. There’s no reason for the Yankees to prioritize him over the others they have in the rotation other than to prop up his trade value.

The good news about Stroman for any prospective trade suitor is that his contract only runs for 2025 (unless he somehow crosses the 140-inning mark this season, which the Yankees will be smart not to cross). If he manages to regain his form, then the Yankees could be in business.