Stroman looks to stay strong in mind, body for Yanks

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- The Yankees had heard about Marcus Stroman's dedication to the trifecta of mind, body and spirit, but that hadn’t prepared them for some of the right-hander’s more unique exercises.

“Seeing him move around the weight room, it’s unique,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s all good stuff, but he’s unique in how he does things. He’ll be in there on his hands, walking around and putting himself in different positions.”

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The overall purpose of that work, of course, is to help Stroman have a healthy and effective debut season in the Bronx. With four scoreless, hitless innings in the team's 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays on Friday afternoon, Stroman moved one notch closer to his goals.

“I felt pretty good; just still working,” Stroman said. “I think the priority now is getting everything down, stuff-wise, mechanics-wise, body. There’s definitely a priority on health, just to build these innings and stay healthy throughout Spring Training.”

An All-Star last season with the Cubs, when he was 9-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 19 first-half starts, Stroman identified an abbreviated June 25 start against the Cardinals in London as the turning point of his season.

After that outing, Stroman dealt with right hip inflammation and a rib cage cartilage fracture.

“I look back and I think it was just a little too much load in a short span of time, especially with that London Series,” Stroman said. “I threw a lot before that London Series and they ended up skipping two guys and throwing me. It was just too much with the travel and I struggled after that.

“I put a priority on my body every year. I’m someone who prides himself on taking care of his mind and body. I feel like I’m hopefully going to play this game forever. I’m right back in the gym the second the season is over, with that priority.”

Signed to a two-year, $37 million deal in January, Stroman has been fitting in quickly with the Yankees.

Stroman has been chatting frequently with locker mate Clarke Schmidt, offering pointers on his sinker and changeup, while Gerrit Cole has shared some of the content of Stroman’s book for middle school readers, “The Grip,” with his son Caden.

“Gerrit’s cool, man,” Stroman said. “He sent me a synopsis of one of my books, a breakdown of my children’s book. It’s loosely based around my upbringing as a kid, so he was asking me how much of it is real and what I experienced as a kid.”

Down Mexico way

The Yankees have not finalized their travel roster for an upcoming two-game exhibition series in Mexico City, but left-hander Victor González is sure about one thing: there’s no way he’ll miss those games.

“It’s very important to me to have the opportunity to go there to Mexico and pitch there,” Gonzalez said through an interpreter. “I have a lot of family members that haven’t had the opportunity to see me pitch.

"To wear the Yankees pinstripes and be at home to pitch in front of my family, I think it’s going to be incredible for me.”

The Bombers will face the Diablos Rojos del México at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium in Mexico City on March 24 and 25, marking the Yankees’ first visit to Mexico since March 1969. Both games are already sold out; the Diablos Rojos also recently signed Robinson Canó, who is expected to face his former team.

Because they are split-squad contests, the Yankees will also play Grapefruit League games against the Pirates and Mets in Florida, creating a wrinkle that Boone plans to iron out over the next two weeks. Boone said that outfielder Alex Verdugo, who has twice played for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, will probably be among those making the trip.

“I’m still working through exactly who we’re going to bring, but we’re going to be pretty well-represented there,” Boone said. “We’re kind of treating them like a true split-squad. It’s something unique and different, and hopefully something that will be a cool baseball and life experience.”

Mashing ‘Machine’

DJ LeMahieu had a perfect afternoon at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a walk. LeMahieu led off the game with a single facing Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt, then knocked a run-scoring double to right field off Bassitt in the third inning.

LeMahieu finished his day with a walk in the fifth. It’s been a slow spring for LeMahieu, who is now 3-for-14 (.214). Boone said it was a positive sign that LeMahieu is driving the ball to the opposite field.

“That’s his bread and butter, right there,” Boone said. “The whole time, DJ has looked right to me. But those were really good at-bats today, with a little bit of everything. It’s nice to go out and have some results, but I feel like he’s in a pretty good spot.”