Yankees manager Aaron Boone makes feelings known on Marcus Stroman's controversial 'starter' stance

For better or worse, much of the discussion around the New York Yankees training camp so far has been about Marcus Stroman. The two-time All-Star has been noticeably absent from the club all week before arriving at the club's facilities in Tampa, Florida on Friday.

The 33-year-old made his way to the New York Yankees team facilities on Friday and was instantly met with a barrage of questions about his absence, his future, and his plans for the upcoming season.

One of the questions that Marcus Stroman addressed was the possibilty of him pitching out of the bullpen as opposed to being a starter, something that he shut down right away.

"I'm a starter. I won't pitch in the bullpen. I'm a starter," Stroman told reporters.

Right now, the New York Yankees are rather deep at starting pitching, which could prevent Stroman from being handed a spot in the regular rotation. The addition of Max Fried this offseason might make Stroman the odd-man out with the likes of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt all seemingly ranking ahead of him.

After Stroman's strong answer regarding his role with the club and refusal to pitch out of the bullpen, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked about the situation. Boone, who often handles difficult questions calmly, gave a non-committal response, however said that they were planning on preparing him as if he was going to start games.

"Well first of all, Happy Valentine's Day. It's February 14th. You're getting way ahead of this thing. We're getting him ready, we're building him up to be a starting pitcher. It's so far out there... Right now the focus is getting him ready to go. As we go when things come up, we'll address them," Boone told reporters following Marcus Stroman's comments.

Stroman has been linked in trade rumors all offseason, with the New York Yankees reportedly offering a deal to the St. Louis Cardinals as part of a package for Nolan Arenado. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, however, the veteran pitcher is at camp and working alongside his teammates.

Aaron Boone has not ruled out the Yankees moving to a 6-man as Marcus Stroman arrives at camp

Marcus Stroman vehementally shot down the idea of moving to the bullpen, so if the Yankees are unable to find a trade for the pitcher, there is a chance that they could look to a 6-man rotation. While it is not common for team's to use a 6-man rotation, Boone has not ruled out the idea.

"Never say never. I don't necessarily see us doing that. Reality is we're getting 10-11 guys ready to be starters and who knows how many of them you'll have to use right away," Boone told reporters.

Although he did not reject the idea, there is a level of uncertainty in his response, which could create some competition in camp in order to secure one of those spots. Even though Marcus Stroman might be on the outside looking in right now, he has been an effective MLB pitcher throughout his career and has a legitimate case to be part of the team's rotation in 2025.