The Toronto Blue Jays could trade ace starting pitcher Marcus Stroman by the deadline later this month, and the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees are two teams that could be interested, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com.
The Yankees heavily scouted Stroman's start against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night, further indicating that they are considering pursuing the right-hander.
Of course, the problem for New York is that it is a division rival of Toronto's, so the Blue Jays would almost certainly expect the Yankees to a pay a premium if they want to have any shot of landing Stroman.
As for the Phillies, they could absolutely use some pitching help, as they rank 21st in baseball with a 4.74 ERA.
Stroman has gone 6-10 with a 3.06 ERA thus far this season, allowing 113 hits while striking out 93 batters over 117.2 innings of work. He made his first All-Star team as a result.
The 28-year-old was originally selected by the Washington Nationals in the 18th round of the 2009 MLB Draft, but could not reach a deal with the Nationals and was then drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round (22nd pick overall) three years later.
He made his major-league debut in 2014, going 11-6 with a 3.65 ERA while fanning 111 hitters across 130.2 frames of action. Injuries then limited Stroman to just four starts in 2015, and in 2016, he struggled, pitching to the tune of a 4.37 ERA.
Stroman then rediscovered his groove in 2017, registering a 3.09 ERA before injuries thwarted him yet again in 2018, limiting him to 19 starts as he labored with a 5.54 ERA.
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