Marcus Stroman

It was an open question whether Stroman would open the regular season in New York's starting rotation at the outset of spring training, but he's now an essential component following injuries to Gerrit Cole (elbow), Luis Gil (lat) and Clarke Schmidt (shoulder). The 33-year-old veteran gave up a first-inning run, but managed to settle in afterwards and got plenty of run support from New York's fully operational Death Star of a lineup. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete five frames and was forced to settle for a no-decision. Still, he gave the Yankees a chance and their bullpen responded by getting the final 13 outs without giving up a run. He'll face off against the free-falling Pirates on Saturday in his next outing.

The runs came on homers from Brett Baty and Pete Alonso in the second inning. Stroman's velocity is currently down about one mph from 2024, when he was already down about 1.5 mph from 2023. He figures to have a difficult time unless he regains some arm strength.

The Yankees and Mets ended Monday afternoon's matchup in a 6-6 tie.

The Yankees and Mets ended Monday afternoon's matchup in a 6-6 tie.

He walked two and needed 64 pitches to get through three, even though he allowed just one hit along the way. Stroman topped out at 90.5 mph today, and there's just no sign that any of the velocity he lost last year is going to make its way back. It'll be an impressive feat if he turns out to be an average starter anyway.