Blue Jays, Stroman heading to arbitration hearing

Marcus Stroman and the Toronto Blue Jays will be going to an arbitration hearing.

The 25-year-old right-hander confirmed to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet on Friday that he's going to a hearing with Toronto over a difference of $300,000.

Stroman is reportedly seeking a $3.4-million salary, while the Blue Jays filed at $3.1 million. Either way, he'll earn a big raise from his 2016 salary of $515,900.

The diminutive hurler made 32 starts for Toronto last season for the first time in his career, one season after making a return from ACL surgery that caused him to miss most of the 2015 campaign.

Overall, he tossed 204 innings in 2016 and posted a 9-10 record with a 4.37 ERA, but that may not be enough to get the raise he is seeking.

"That missing year and mediocre platform do him no favors," one experienced arbitration specialist told Nicholson-Smith on Jan. 10.

Over his three-year career in the bigs, the former first-round draft choice owns a 24-16 record with a 3.91 ERA, which includes a rate of 7.3 strikeouts per nine innings, and a WHIP of 1.22.

Toronto settled with all their arbitration-eligible players except Stroman before last Friday's deadline.