Marcus Stroman Accepts Mets' $18.9M Qualifying Offer, Avoids 2020 Free Agency

After missing the entire 2020 season, Marcus Stroman will return to the New York Mets on a one-year deal. 

Stroman confirmed a report from Metsmerized that he has accepted New York's qualifying offer worth $18.9 million:

Stroman suffered a torn calf muscle last year in spring training and was seemingly set to make his season debut in August when he decided to opt out because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This was a decision I had to kind of take myself out of it and look out for the best interests of my family," he said at the time.

The extra weeks on the injured list also allowed the 29-year-old to accrue enough service time to hit free agency this offseason.

It meant he could have left the Mets after just 11 starts following his 2019 midseason trade that sent pitching prospects Simeon Woods Richardson and Anthony Kay to the Toronto Blue Jays. Considering he had just a 3.77 ERA and 1.48 WHIP for a team that missed the playoffs, it would have been a tough loss for the organization.

Stroman has instead decided to return while trying to prove he can be a frontline starter.

The right-hander was selected to the All-Star game in 2019 thanks to a 2.96 ERA in 21 starts with the Toronto Blue Jays. He finished eighth in Cy Young voting in 2017 when he went 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA with 164 strikeouts.

Stroman's problem has been inconsistency, with his 2018 campaign especially highlighting the issue. He finished with a 5.54 ERA in 19 starts, throwing just 77 strikeouts in 102.1 innings.

A modest 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings over his career means his results are more dependent on balls in play compared to other top pitchers.

There is still plenty of upside as New York tries to add him to a rotation that featured elite performances from Jacob deGrom last season but little else.

Noah Syndergaard is expected to return from Tommy John surgery, and David Peterson proved useful as a rookie last season, but Stroman will need to be at his best to help the Mets contend in the competitive NL East.