Cubs make big splash signing Marcus StromanRussell Dorseyon December 2, 2021 at 12:11 am

Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Stroman was 10-13 with a 3.02 ERA in 33 starts and a 50.8% strikeout rate.

The Cubs made their third signing of the offseason on Wednesday, signing right-hander Marcus Stroman. Stroman confirmed the signing via Twitter just a few hours before the MLBPA-MLB current collective bargaining agreement was set to expire.

Stroman is a big boost for the Cubs rotation and He thrived in his second season pitching with the Mets, going 10-13 with a sparkling 3.02 ERA in 33 starts. The 30-year-old right-hander has not only been one of the best defensive pitchers in baseball, but has a knack for inducing ground balls with an eye-popping 50.8% groundball rate.

President Jed Hoyer came into the offseason with pitching as the team’s top priority and grabbing one of the best arms on the market accomplishes that goal. Stroman now joins Kyle Hendricks, Wade Miley at the top of the rotation with Alec Mills, Adbert Alzolay, Justin Steele and Keegan Thompson also in the mix.

“We talked about needing to add innings this winter,” Hoyer said at the GM Meetings. “The need to add quality starting pitching, quality pitching throughout, and to be able to do that in early November [with Miley] was exciting for us to start that process. It’s certainly not the end of that process; it was a great way to start up.”

Stroman is 61-60 with a 3.63 ERA over seven seasons with the Mets and Blue Jays, including an All-Star appearance and a Gold Glove Award in 2017.

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