bet in uk Blue Jays could reunite with Marcus Stroman to hold off Yankees in AL East

nicephThe Toronto Blue Jays made clear what they felt an area of need was on Thursday, when they traded for Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber.

pera playIf Toronto feels it still needs one more new starter, an old friend just became available.

winph99The New York Yankees released Marcus Stroman on Friday in a move that was pretty unexpected.

Stroman is a free agent now, able to sign with any team. Why not the Blue Jays?

He was a first-round pick by Toronto in 2012 out of Duke.

Stroman then spent his first six MLB seasons with Toronto. In that time, he went 47-45 with a 3.76 ERA and 635 strikeouts in 789.2 innings.

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Since then, Stroman has pitched for the Mets (two seasons, 3.21 ERA), the Cubs (two seasons, 3.73 ERA) and the Yankees (two seasons, 4.69 ERA).

Now 34 years old, Stroman has struggled this season with a 6.23 ERA in nine outings after battling some injuries.

Last season, Stroman went 10-9 with a 4.31 ERA in his first campaign with the Yankees.

There haven't been any initial reports linking Stroman to Toronto, or other teams. The release came pretty much out of nowhere.

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A Stroman signing would make sense as a smart depth move.

Right now, the Blue Jays probably have a five-man staff of Kevin Gausman, Bieber, Max Scherzer, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt.

But considering that Bieber is coming off Tommy John surgery, and the nagging injuries Scherzer has dealt with, having another starter around is probably a good idea.

Maybe it's Stroman, and maybe it's not. But if he wanted to come back, it'd be a fitting reunion. It'd also give him a chance to potentially pitch against the Yankees and keep Toronto atop the AL East.

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