Cubs ace Marcus Stroman has made it clear he doesn't want to be traded, and he made it clearer that he wants an extension with a complete-game gem.
With the Chicago Cubs having dropped precipitously in the NL Central standings, the conversation around the club quickly turned from a resurgent 2023 season to which players could be on the trade block at the forthcoming trade deadline. One name that came up quickly in that discussion was the ace of the pitching staff, Marcus Stroman.
Stroman, for his part, does not want that. The veteran right-hander told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) that he woudl prefer to sign an extension with the Cubs rather than be traded. That decision, of course, is not entirely in his hands. But what is in his hands is showing Chicago how badly he wants to stay, namely with his performance.
He did that on Memorial Day with a monstrous outing against the MLB-best Tampa Bay Rays.
Stroman had a no-hitter entering the seventh inning before Wander Franco blooped a single to left-center, but that was the only hit that the righty allowed as he tossed a divine complete game shutout, allowing just the one hit along with one walk and one hit-by-pitch on the afternoon, propelling the Cubs to the 1-0 win.
Cubs rumors: Marcus Stroman wants an extension and he's playing like it
Overall this season, Stroman has been brilliant, posting a 2.59 ERA and 0.99 WHIP on the year over his 12 starts. But since his comments about his future with the Cubs, to come out and deliver a performance like the one he did on Monday against the hot-hitting Rays speaks volumes about where his head is at.
Stroman has been a vocal presence for Chicago since he arrived and it's clear that he wants to continue being that beyond this season. However, with him likely to opt-out of the final year of his contract with the Cubs this offseason given the payday he could command coming off of this type of season, that makes him a prime candidate to be traded.
That's where the tricky part for the Cubbies comes into play. On one hand, with Stroman pitching at this high of a level, his demand on the trade market could be massive and land Chicago a monster haul for even a rental over the second half of this season. At the same time, though, if a pitcher who is absolutely dealing at just 32 years old wants to be around for the long haul, that could be equally valuable for the future.
If Stroman hadn't made it clear enough that he wants the Cubs to keep him around, though, he can send the tape of his start on Monday directly to the front office.