Marcus Stroman can’t get over ‘final hump’ as lingering injury sparks Yankees concern

On a day Ryan Yarbrough started because the Yankees rotation depth has been sapped, the club revealed that Marcus Stroman is not progressing as hoped.

Stroman threw a live session Friday in Tampa and still was feeling knee discomfort, Aaron Boone said Sunday.

The manager was not yet sure of the next step for Stroman. There is concern, though, for a knee issue that has lingered.

“He’s got a lot of treatments on it and stuff, and he just can’t kind of get over that final hump to really allow him to get to that next level on the mound,” Boone said as Yarbrough pitched well in a 12-2 victory over the A’s at Sutter Health Park. “We’ll try and continue to get our arms around it and try and make sure we get that out of there.”

The righty last pitched a month ago — on April 11 — after which he was placed on the injured list with left knee inflammation. He continued to throw afterward but was originally limited to playing catch, not returning to a mound because of the knee.

He has begun to build up and is back to mound work, but the knee continues to hamper him.

Marcus Stroman pitching during his last appearance for the Yankees on April 11, 2025.

In Stroman’s three starts — lowlighted by the five-run, two-out brutal night in a rainy, miserable loss to the Giants — he pitched to an 11.57 ERA. Boone said his knee contributing to his rough beginning of the season is “definitely possible.”

“Certainly his last start, I think he just couldn’t really step on that front side like you need to,” Boone said. “I talk about these guys that are like race cars — a little thing off, it can affect just that last level of command or that last level of extra stuff that you need.”

“Again, we’ll continue to try and get him where we need to.”

The Yankees could have used Stroman after losing Gerrit Cole for the season and Luis Gil for months. Carlos Carrasco was ineffective until being DFA’d. Yarbrough received Sunday’s start, at least temporarily serving as the fifth starter and beginning to make a case that he belongs.

In his second start and second encouraging start, the lefty allowed two runs on six hits in five strong innings while building up to 67 pitches.

“Keeping guys off balance, a lot of soft contact,” said Yarbrough, who struck out just two and maxed out at 90.1 mph, but his funk and pitch mix frustrated the A’s.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone (r.) takes the ball from Marcus Stroman (l.) during the first inning against the Giants on April 11, 2025.

Boone said it is possible the veteran — who began the season as a multi-inning reliever and had most recently gotten a spot start May 3, when he lasted four, one-run innings and threw 64 pitches — continues to receive starts.

Yarbrough, who said he was only officially informed Saturday that he would start Sunday, sounds open to remaining in the rotation.

“I’m sure we’ll have ongoing talks about that,” said the 33-year-old, who has bounced between the bullpen and rotation in his career. “I’m definitely enjoying starting right now, [but we will] see how things unfold. It’s a little out of my discretion.”