Marcus Stroman has a qualifying offer on the table from the New York Mets but based on a reply to a fan on Twitter, it doesn’t look like he’s coming back.
Stroman is one of the best free-agent pitchers on the market this offseason. But, there has been speculation that it would be smarter for him to take the $18.9 million qualifying offer he received from the Mets to re-establish himself as an elite starter after opting to sit out the 2020 season.
Although he has until November 11 to decide whether to return on a one year deal or not, it doesn’t look like he wants to be back in a Mets uniform. On Monday a fan tweeted at the former All-Star and said, “You know you love it here [with the Mets], and let’s face it, we are the best fans in baseball.”Stroman saw the tweet and replied with a GIF of someone laughing hysterically. Hinting that he doesn’t like it with the Mets and that Mets fans aren’t great fans.
Stroman has already burned a bridge with the other team in New York as well. After the New York Yankees were eliminated from the postseason, Stroman went on a rant about their lack of starting pitching depth.
“Beside (Gerrit) Cole, there’s no current Yankee pitcher who will be anywhere in my league over the next 5-7 years. Their pitching always folds in the end. That lineup and payroll should be winning World Series’ left and right…yet they’re in a drought. Lol,” Stroman said on Twitter. He was likely referring to GM Brian Cashman’s comments after the 2019 Trade Deadline. Cashman said he thought Stroman wasn’t going to be a “difference-maker”.
What we do know is Stroman wasn’t a difference-maker at all for the Mets in 2020. He chose to sit out to protect himself from either getting injured and/or having a down season which would hurt him in free agency. That doesn’t seem like a team player very much. Stroman’s average annual value is going to be less than the $18.9 million qualifying offer the Mets have made. Only time will tell if he returns to the Mets or not. The odds are slim.
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