The Cubs made their third move of the offseason Wednesday, signing right-hander Marcus Stroman. The right-hander confirmed the signing via Twitter just a few hours before the MLBPA-MLB collective bargaining agreement was set to expire.
The deal reportedly is for three years and $71 million.
Stroman is a big boost for the Cubs’ rotation after he thrived in his second season with the Mets, going 10-13 with a sparkling 3.02 ERA in 33 starts. The 30-year-old has not only been one of the best defensive pitchers in baseball, but has a knack for inducing ground balls with an eye-popping 50.8% rate.
President Jed Hoyer came into the offseason with pitching as the team’s top priority and grabbing one of the best arms on the market accomplishes that goal. Stroman now joins Kyle Hendricks and Wade Miley at the top of the rotation with Alec Mills, Adbert Alzolay, Justin Steele and Keegan Thompson in the mix.
“We talked about needing to add innings this winter,” Hoyer said at the GM Meetings. “The need to add quality starting pitching, quality pitching throughout, and to be able to do that in early November [with Miley] was exciting for us to start that process. It’s certainly not the end of that process; it was a great way to start up.”
Stroman is 61-60 with a 3.63 ERA over seven seasons with the Mets and Blue Jays, including an All-Star appearance and a Gold Glove Award in 2017.
