Marcus Stroman wants to stay with the Toronto Blue Jays for a long time, but the feeling may not be mutual.
"I've been waiting to sign a long-term deal, I've been offered nothing," Stroman told reporters on Sunday, including Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.
"There's no one that embodies the city of Toronto more than me and you're not going to find guys who come in and want to embody the city of Toronto because it's just not natural," the right-hander and New York native added. "I've taken a liking to that myself. That has been organic and natural. It's not something I had to do. It's something I wanted to do. Like I said, I've always wanted to be here."
Team sources disputed Stroman's claim that he hasn't been offered a long-term extension, according to Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun.
"I want to make sure everybody in this organization is doing everything in their power to put the best product on the field," Stroman continued, per Longley. "That's it. I want to win."
Stroman signed a one-year, $7.4-million contract with the club to avoid arbitration this winter.
The previous offseason, Stroman and the Blue Jays went to arbitration, resulting in the pitcher saying he'll never forget the "negative things that were said against me, by my own team," in since-deleted tweets. The Blue Jays won the hearing, with the arbitrator choosing the team's filing of $6.5 million instead of Stroman's $6.9 million request.
The 27-year-old has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining before becoming a free agent following the 2020 season.
Over five seasons with the Blue Jays, Stroman has authored a 3.91 ERA and 3.62 FIP in 114 appearances.
