Latest Cubs rumors regarding free agent Marcus Stroman

One of the biggest remaining free agent names on the board is right-hander Marcus Stroman. The 30-year-old starting pitcher is coming off a very impressive year with the Mets, as he pitched to a 3.02 ERA, 3.49 FIP, 1.15 WHIP, 158 strikeouts and 44 walks in 33 starts in 2021. His current projected market value per Spotrac for 2022 is around $21 million AAV. As expected there are plenty of teams interested in the All-Star pitcher and there have been reports linking the Chicago Cubs to him. The team needs more starting pitching, and they just lost out on the Steven Matz bid.

Chicago Cubs: Is there mutual interest between the Cubs and Stroman?

Reports from Tim Dierkes from MLB Trade Rumors on Wednesday night listed the Cubs as one of the teams interested in Stroman. Others mentioned include the Red Sox, Giants, Mets and Angels.

While one could look at Dierkes and wonder if the sources he has are good, seeing as he is not one of the “big time” reporters, his report was shouted out by MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. Morosi also added the Mariners could also be in on Stroman. So there is reason to believe those sources are good. All of those teams, especially the Cubs, make perfect sense as suitors for Stroman.

As pointed out by several other outlets, including Bleacher Nation, Stroman took to Twitter last week and showed appreciation to several fanbases, which included the Cubs. Look, one should not read too much into this. At the end of the day, money will talk as will the best opportunities he is presented with. It is nice to see him acknowledge the Cubs fanbase though.

If the Cubs really want to make a play on Stroman, they are going to have to make a serious effort. They have to convince him to come to a team that is in a transition phase as opposed to the other teams that are in win-now mode or on the cusp of contention, and that is going to require financial flexibility.

There is a great opportunity here for the Cubs to make their rotation a lot stronger by getting a guy like Stroman. They have the resources, take the shot. Show you are serious about taking a big step to make things better in 2022.

With the CBA expiration date looming, the next few days could get very interesting. One could wonder if Stroman will be among those who want a deal before the date comes.