Brian Cashman and Marcus Stroman appear to be on good terms after the New York Yankees general manager apologized to the pitcher after saying he didn't view him as a "difference-maker" in the past.
The Yankees were interested in acquiring Stroman from the Toronto Blue Jays at the 2019 trade deadline, but Cashman balked at an asking price that included outfielder Clint Frazier and said at the time they likely would've used Stroman out of the bullpen if they acquired him.
"(That was) my bad," Cashman said on Thursday, according to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News.
Stroman appeared to hold a grudge against Cashman and the Yankees for several years because of the quote, tweeting the following in 2021:
"Besides (Gerrit) Cole, there's no current Yankee pitcher who will be anywhere in my league over the next five-to-seven years," he wrote. "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."
Cashman said he apologized to Stroman's agent in 2019 for what he said but admitted it was important to right the ship with the pitcher in a more direct manner before the two sides agreed to a two-year, $37-million contract last week.
"Me and Cashman kind of hashed out whatever it was that we had from a few years ago," Stroman said on Thursday, according to The Associated Press. "We kind of laughed about it, and we moved on."
Stroman will pitch for his home-state Yankees in the upcoming season after spending the past two campaigns with the Chicago Cubs. The 32-year-old authored a 3.95 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 136 2/3 innings last year.
