Less than 24 hours after being traded to the Mets, Marcus Stroman hopped on a conference call with reporters from New York and Toronto to discuss the deal. Here are the takeaways...
On his initial reaction to the the trade
"Yeah, I was definitely shocked. I definitely was expecting to get moved to some team at some point before the deadline. ... so hearing that it was the Mets I was shocked. And then after it was followed by a level of excitement as well, because of my family, because of my friends. ... I'm excited to be a New York Met. I can't wait to get there and kind of be a part of it."
On the commotion in the Blue Jays clubhouse after he found out
"To be honest, I never set my mind on anywhere. I was never excited because I knew kind of how the process works and I knew I could kind of be shopped anywhere. The commotion was a discussion that I had with some of our coaches, some of the higher-ups in our (organization). ... I was just kind of voicing my opinion. I didn't like a couple of things that were handled around the process. It had nothing to do with the Mets at all. Like I said, it all hit me kind of quick" before "the excitement all settled in." then talked about the excitement."
On a potential contract extension with the Mets
"I'm gonna be completely honest with you. I haven't even come close to thinking about that. ... I think that will all kind of play out in itself. Like I said, I'm extremely excited to be a Met. My passion, my energy that obviously comes with it. And I'm excited to kind of have that New York energy and New York passion along with it. I can't wait.."
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Impressions of the Mets right now
"I think it's an unbelievable team. I truly think it's one of the best (starting) staffs in all of baseball. I think deGrom is the best in the game right now, Syndergaard is one of the best power arms in baseball. ... there's so many guys in the rotation that can shut down so many guys and I feel like I'm capable of doing the same. So you throw that along with the lineup that we have -- the young guys that have been raking -- obviously McNeil, obviously Conforto, obviously Alonso has been doing some crazy, crazy things."
On how his energy and emotion can help the Mets
"My energy is extremely authentic. I love playing the game of baseball. I love competing. When I'm between those lines it's kind of a different savage, a different demon that kind of is out there. Kind of go to a dark place where I need to be, where I'm very passionate and very emotional."
What Brodie Van Wagenen said to him after finalizing the trade
"He sounded extremely excited, to be honest with you. He knows I'm from New York. ... he said that I'd be a perfect fit for the group of guys, for the city, for kind of everything. He made it seem like I'm gonna be a Met for -- didn't make it seem like I'd be going anywhere for a bit.