The New York Yankees’ former second baseman, left the American League champions to sign a one-year, $15 million contract with the Detroit Tigers, the Bronx Bombers were left scrambling to fill the void in the middle infield. As the calendar turns to 2025, they have yet to complete the necessary roster fix.
However, a recent trade idea submitted on the Fireside Yankees podcast’s X (previously Twitter) page urges the Yankees to solve the issue while simultaneously relieving themselves from a costly contract. That contract belongs to Marcus Stroman, who struggled in the second half of 2024 and was a non-factor in the Yankees’ postseason run, failing to face a single hitter.
Stroman, unsurprisingly, is said to be available for trade this summer. According to MLB.com, the Yankees attempted to trade Stroman to the St. Louis Cardinals as part of a deal to acquire third baseman Nolan Arenado, but the Cardinals did not want him.
Would the Washington Nationals take on the final year of Stroman’s $37 million contract for $18.5 million? According to the online trade proposal, the Yankees would also send two of their top-10 prospects, pitcher Chase Hampton (No. 6) and 20-year-old middle infielder Rodrick Arias (No. 4), to make the deal worthwhile for the Nationals.
In exchange, the Yankees acquire 24-year-old second baseman Luis Garcia Jr., a native of New York City who emigrated to the Dominican Republic with his family when he was three years old. He is the son of Luis Garcia, a former major leaguer who played eight games for the Detroit Tigers in 1999.
The younger Garcia, who signed with the Nationals as an amateur free agency in 2016, is scheduled to make $5.4 million in 2025 and has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining after that.
Garcia’s offensive productivity in 2024 was not exceptional, but it was the fifth-year player’s breakout season. He hit a personal best 18 home runs and had a.762 OPS. His defense is normally above-average, but not outstanding. According to Baseball Savant, his range factor ranks him in the 88th percentile of Major League players. His arm strength, on the other hand, is low, ranking in the 11th percentile.
For the Yankees, it looks that the recently proposed deal would be more of a financial dump to get rid of Stroman than a long-term replacement for Torres.
