Marcus Stroman opts out of the the 2020 season

Marcus Stroman announced today that he has decided to opt out of the remainder of the 2020 season. In a joint press conference with Mets’ General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen, Stroman announced that, while his torn calf that landed him on the Injured List is feeling fine, there were ‘too many uncertainties, too many unknowns’ to play this season. Stroman specifically singled out his grandmother and uncle as being high risk for COVID-19, and felt he needed to do what was best for his family.

Stroman specifically mentioned the spikes across the nation, as well as the multiple MLB teams that needed to be shut down due to positive cases and the pending Mets trip to Miami as some of the reasons why he decided to opt out today.

Stroman made very clear that he felt the Mets have been exemplary in their handling of this situation, and that he feels they are doing the best job of any team he’s encountered in keeping their players safe. Stroman also expressed a willingness to return to the franchise, as he is a free agent at the end of this season, and had nothing but words of praise for his time with the Mets.

Stroman came to the Mets from the Blue Jays last summer for minor league pitchers Simeon Woods Richardson and Anthony Kay. In 11 starts last season, Stroman pitched to a 108 ERA+ and a 4-2 record.

Van Wagenen said that the team will ‘take inventory’ of their pitching situation over the next week or so and come to a decision about what to do about their rotation going forward. With Michael Wacha on the Injured List and Noah Syndergaard having undergone Tommy John surgery earlier this year, the Mets’ starting pitching depth is decimated at this point, with Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Rick Porcello, and David Peterson representing the only stretched out pitchers on the Mets’ roster.