Is something brewing with Marcus Stroman?

Marcus Stroman had a difficult start for the Blue Jays today, going just four innings while scattering three runs on three hits and four walks. None of the runs were earned as the Jays’ defence behind Stroman let him down, but something seemed off about the usually-energetic starter.

Look, I usually don’t dive into these completely random rumours, but the timing here seems really odd. Stroman, who’s usually bouncing around the mound with a bunch of energy, was strangely quiet and solemn out there today. Maybe he’s sick or had something else going on (Hazel Mae reported on the broadcast that he was just feeling off) or maybe there’s something bigger brewing that he knows about.

Again, let’s take this with a massive grain of salt given it’s just some random 500-follower account on Twitter. Like I said, though, something seemed really off today, so I guess it’s something worth thinking about.

Stroman trade rumours have been going on for months now. There was a lot of talk about the Jays listening to trade offers in the off-season for Stroman, but nothing ended up happening. The prevailing thought seems to be that the Jays want to give Stroman a chance to regain his value before making a deal, which makes sense.

And if he was going to get traded, San Diego makes a lot of sense. They’re all-in right now with the signing of Manny Machado in the off-season, they need some starting pitching help, and they have the best farm system in baseball. Obviously the Jays are going to want a big haul for Stroman and San Diego would be willing to provide that.

I doubt it’s anything, but still, the timing is a little bit interesting.