Hours before the expiration of Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement and an expected lockout, the Chicago Cubs locked in the best available free-agent starting pitcher.
Right-hander Marcus Stroman agreed to terms on a three-year contract, the Cubs announced Wednesday night. The deal is for $71 million, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported, with an opt-out after the second season and $2 million escalators in 2022 and ‘23 for pitching 160 innings. Stroman will earn $25 million in the upcoming season, according to Passan.
Among a series of tweets, Stroman — a 2019 All-Star who had a 3.02 ERA in 33 starts for the New York Mets this year — noted how “Chicago has always been one of my favorite cites.”
“Culture and passion everywhere,” Stroman tweeted. “Beyond excited to pitch in front one of the best fan bases in all of sports. Thank you to everyone in the city for the warm welcome. I can feel it. Let’s get to work!”
Stroman is the caliber of free agent the Cubs need to make a significant improvement coming off a 71-91 season. He becomes their most notable acquisition after they reached agreements with outfielder Clint Frazier on a one-year deal and veteran catcher Yan Gomes on a two-year contract with a club option and claimed veteran left-hander Wade Miley off waivers.
Once the CBA expires at 10:59 p.m. CST Wednesday and MLB owners lock out players, a leaguewide transaction freeze will be in place until a new CBA goes into effect.
Stroman, 30, gives the Cubs another top-of-the-rotation arm to pair with right-hander Kyle Hendricks. His 179 innings pitched ranked 16th in the National League in 2021, right behind Max Scherzer and Brandon Woodruff, after Stroman opted out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Stroman’s slider was one of his most effective pitches last season with a 37% swing-and-miss rate, while hitters managed just a .184 average and .309 slugging percentage against the pitch.
The Cubs planned to improve the rotation after the unit rated among the worst in the majors in multiple areas. Hendricks, Stroman and Miley already represents an upgrade from pairing Zach Davies and Jake Arrieta with Hendricks. Adbert Alzolay, Justin Steele and Keegan Thompson should take steps forward in their development and help the Cubs in either the rotation or bullpen.
The front office has more work to do, both on the pitching side and bolstering the lineup, but adding a pitcher like Stroman is a good step toward strengthening the roster and positioning the Cubs to be competitive in 2022.
