Cashman: Yankees didn't think Stroman 'would be a difference-maker'

The New York Yankees were among teams linked to right-hander Marcus Stroman ahead of July's trade deadline. Ultimately, the Toronto Blue Jays dealt Stroman to the New York Mets after the Yankees refused to meet their asking price.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the club had interest in acquiring Stroman, but it wasn't inclined to include outfielder Clint Frazier in the deal, according to Wallace Matthews of Yahoo Sports.

"We were interested in Stroman but we didn't think he would be a difference-maker," Cashman said. "We felt he would be in our bullpen in the postseason."

Hours after Cashman made the comments, Stroman tweeted out a graphic highlighting his performance compared to Yankees starters this season.

Stroman has had a mostly effective campaign, going 9-13 with a 3.23 ERA and 1.31 WHIP over 178 1/3 innings. In 10 starts since being acquired by the Mets, he's been a little shakier with a 3.86 ERA over 53 2/3 innings.

The Yankees' rotation hasn't been the club's greatest strength in 2019. New York starters rank 14th in the majors with a 4.49 ERA and neither J.A. Happ nor CC Sabathia has performed consistently. Both veterans will be in the bullpen going forward as the team plans on taking a non-traditional approach to its postseason rotation.

Still, the rotation might not be in bad shape. James Paxton is 10-0 with a 2.25 ERA since the beginning of August and Luis Severino has looked sharp in nine shutout innings since returning from injury.