With pitchers and catchers set to report for spring training in just over a month, the New York Yankees ramped up their pursuit of starting pitching. Their efforts resulted in Marcus Stroman returning to New York, this time to wear pinstripes. That signing came about after progress on a contract with free agent Blake Snell stalled.

Brian Cashman and the Yankees had gone so far as to extend a contract offer to Snell. But the two sides were never particularly close to a deal, per the New York Post's Jon Heyman. The gap, financially, between what Snell wanted and what the Yankees offered was significant.

Once the Yankees determined that they would not find common ground with Snell, they pivoted to Stroman. A face-to-face meeting between Stroman and Cashman resulted in a deal, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

The Yankees have emerged has strong favorites to sign Marcus Stroman

The team inking Stroman to a two-year, $37 million contract is a major win. While Stroman will pair nicely with Gerrit Cole in the Bronx Bombers' rotation, they could still use another starter.

Yankees to keep adding?

The Yankees are also known to have interest in bringing back Jordan Montgomery. He pitched in parts of six seasons for the Yankees, and came up through the team's farm system before being dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals during the 2022 season.

Montgomery, who spent the 2023 season with the Texas Rangers and earned himself a World Series ring, is rumored to be keen on returning to Texas. He is also being pursued heavily by other teams such as the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Angels.

Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox is known to be available via the trade market. But the Yankees don't want to meet Chicago's required haul of prospects to pry Cease away as it undertakes a rebuild.

The Miami Marlins' Jesus Luzardo is another trade candidate that interests the Yankees, although there reportedly hasn't been much progress in those discussions.