As the 2026 MLB free agency period continues, Marcus Stroman will be continuing to look for his next team. Stroman was originally released by the New York Yankees in August after he was struggling with a 6.23 ERA across nine starts.
*Prediction*
At 34 years old, Marcus Stroman can still provide value to a team, and the team that can look to sign him is the St. Louis Cardinals.
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St. Louis Cardinals Sign Marcus Stroman in MLB Free Agency
The St. Louis Cardinals have made plenty of headlines this offseason, but it has been for trades they have made regarding them sending players away. They have already traded Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, and are rumored to still be looking to trade Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan.
While the Cardinals have made plenty of trades, they also need to be looking to make additions to the team as they need to start to turn things around and can’t completely gut their roster. The biggest area the Cardinals need to add to is their pitching. For the Cardinals, president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom alluded to this by saying, “We will add to the group, I don’t know yet when or who that is going to be, but I want to add at least one guy. Potentially more that have something under them in this league.”
The Cardinals won’t be looking to make a blockbuster move, but they still need to add pitching depth, which is where they can turn to sign Marcus Stroman to achieve this.
On paper, the 2025 season doesn’t look great for Marcus Stroman, but considering he dealt with left knee inflammation, he never truly got the chance to get in a rhythm last season. Combined, over the last two years in New York, he had a 4.69 ERA with 139 strikeouts and a 1.482 WHIP. Before becoming a Yankee, Stroman spent two seasons on the Chicago Cubs, where he had a 3.73 ERA, 1.202 WHIP, and 238 strikeouts.
In the right situation, and when healthy, Marcus Stroman has shown he can be a force, and that upside is what the Cardinals can bank on. With him having the ability to provide steady play to the bullpen, as well as having 11 years of experience, he is the ideal pitching signing the Cardinals can make.