Drunk Jays Thoughts: Stroman’s Shimmy Future

If you love Marcus Stroman or hate him, I don’t really give a damn to be very effing honest with you. If you’re at the point where you smh his cliché tweets and roll your eyes at some of the dumb immature stuff he says for a 27-year-old adult, I get it. If the way he carries himself off the field kind of makes you throw up a bit, I can get that too.

But, honestly who really gives a shit about all that stuff? Or is this type of shit important for Team Shapiro to consider when putting together a future roster that will hopefully lead to a fucking parade down Yonge St.? At the end of the damn baseball day, Jays fans want their team to have a solid rotation of pitchers in 2021 and beyond, amirite?

Even though Stroman had a totally shitty first half of the season, his career totals for the Jays are pretty rock n’ roll. And when his stuff is good, it’s nasty AF to watch. He is 40 – 32 with 3.82 ERA since joining the Jays back in 2014. He has a career 1.276 WHIP, 3.64 FIP, and posts a damn impressive 7.3 Ks per 9 versus 2.5 BBs per 9 – not too bad at all. And let’s not forget the whole Golden Glove thing, too.

Now, this isn’t some drunk rah rah Stroman piece or anything, it’s just that he’s a good pitcher. Great? Not yet, maybe one day…maybe. And he’s young enough that he could be an important piece in the future rotation. The thing is, he could be an even more important piece the Jays front office hold in their pocket when they think about a long term rebuild, as well.

Marcus Stroman is juicy trade bait even with his shimmy shaking whatever. Any competing team would love to add a pitcher like Stroman, who comes with cheap arb years, to their rotation. This type of trade might not happen at the deadline, but it definitely could happen this offseason. And this type of trade could land the Jays something savagely delicious for the future Vladdy plakata years to come.

As we all know, Mark Shapiro did something that had Clevelanders howling into the wind when on June 27, 2002, he traded a 29-year-old Bartolo Colon and Minor League pitcher Tim Drew to the Expos for first baseman Lee Stevens and prospects Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips and Grady Sizemore.

Colon, who was 10-4 with a 2.55 ERA at the time, and was a real deal ‘ace’ was traded to our ol’ friends the Expos to help them make a run at the postseason. The rest is history. And Marcus Stroman is no Bartolo Colon, but who the hell is?

I guess, the rum punch point that I’m trying to make is that Stroman is of a similar age and, yes, he is no Bartolo Colon, but he could set the already bright Jays future up with some more damn prospect-y booze that we’re all drunk on right now if he was traded in the offseason – or even at the deadline.

But, the timing just doesn’t seem right for Stroman to be traded at the deadline with his whole shitty first half of the season thing, with the Happ who will be traded in the next minute thing, and with the who the fuck will pitch for the Jays for the rest of the season thing. But the offseason? Sure, especially if he has a strong second half, which I bet he does because he is that good.

If the front office decides to trade Stroman, it won’t turn into the “trade of the decade”, but it could turn into the “trade of the future” for the Jays. It’s no damn secret that Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins have their eyes set on the miles in front of them and nothing else. So, in those miles ahead, do they see Stroman standing on the dirt hill at the place we all call Dome, or do they see other *SANCHEZ* pitchers out there?

The Jays have pitchers coming up through the system, who just might be the real MLB stuff, but you never know. With the emergence of Ryan Borucki over the past year, the reemergence of SRF, the high hopes for big Nate Pearson, first rounder TJ Zeuch, and that Brazilian boy wonder in Bluefield, there’s a lot to like about the future Jays rotation. And believe me – as all you prospect lovers know – I could add many more names to the list.

So, about Marcus Stroman…what will the front office do? If you think he’s a cocky 27-year-old man who needs to learn how to act like a professional and not like a childish little brat, I get it. If you love the attitude and the tweets and his brand, I get it.

Personally, I don’t give a shit. I care about talent. Stroman has talent. Stroman is good. He is no Bartolo Colon, but he could be the major piece in Team Shapiro’s newer version of that Cleveland trade, or maybe he’s a major piece that helps this team win the damn golden flags.

What are your drunkish Jays thoughts about this Stroman stuff?