The Marcus Stroman contract extension kerfuffle

Over the weekend, news broke about Marcus Stroman because of this tweet reply he sent:

Well. Twitter being what it is, this immediately made people say, “He’s gone! He’s going to be traded!”

That sort of thinking missed one key word in Stroman’s tweet: “now.” This absolutely, positively does not eliminate the possibility of the team and player and agent exploring it later. Remember, Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner weren’t extended... until they were.

Stroman elaborated in some pregame comments Saturday, quoted by Meghan Montemurro in the Tribune:

“I know how narratives get created in media from the top down, once it starts to creep towards the trade deadline and how they try to make it sound like players are unsignable or don’t want to be here. I want to be here more than anything,” Stroman said at Oracle Park. “So I made that known. There’s been no rebuttal from their side.

“Narratives” is right. We have heard many, many times about how much Stroman likes being a Cub, loves the vibe at Wrigley Field, and he reiterated that Saturday:

“I want nothing more than to be a Cub,” Stroman told reporters Saturday.

He concluded:

“There’s been nothing from their side, no offers, no talks really at all,” Stroman said. “That’s me putting it out there and being super honest. And now I’m back to work. I’m not going to really address it anymore. I’m moving forward.”

Fair enough. Nothing from the team — as of now. And Stroman’s not going to talk about it anymore. But that’s not going to stop us!

I think everyone needs to calm down and remember this:

This is an important fact to remember. While 2023 might not have been “the year,” and there’s still more building to do, Dansby Swanson was the linchpin of last offseason’s signings, the “marquee” signing, for lack of a better term. Swanson has performed as advertised, and it should also be noted that the team put a premium on up-the-middle defense, in moving Nico Hoerner to second base, signing Cody Bellinger for center field and Tucker Barnhart as a backup catcher. Barnhart’s been a black hole offensively, but Cubs pitchers enjoy working with him.

So why would you do that and then let Stroman — whose pitching style needs good defense behind him and thrives on that defense — walk or be traded?

It is June 11. The Cubs are still well under .500, though the Giants series shows that with good pitching and defense, this club can win games, and they reside in one of the two weakest divisions in baseball. All five teams in the N.L. Central are flawed, and the Cubs appear to be the equal of any of them. Who’s to say that the Cubs can’t go on a run and be buyers instead of sellers at the deadline — which, I remind you, is still more than seven weeks away.

It still might happen. The team might flop. Stroman might still be traded. Here’s more from Bob Nightengale of USA Today:

So there seems to be a real chance they’ll strike a deal.

Personally? I’d offer him a three-year, $81 million deal ($27 million AAV). That would take him through his age-35 season and essentially make his Cubs tenure a five-year, $131 million contract ($26.2 million AAV). That seems fair value to me. Who says no?