TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees right-hander Marcus Stroman, the subject of trade rumors in recent months and currently the odd man out of the team’s rotation, did not participate in the first two spring training workouts. He stayed away from camp after reporting for his physical Tuesday.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he “had an idea” that Stroman would miss workouts Wednesday and Thursday after speaking with the pitcher earlier in the week. Boone said he was in communication with him both Wednesday night and Thursday morning, declining to divulge Stroman’s reasoning for the absence.

“I’m not going to speak for him,” Boone said. “You can ask him for the reasons. I want him here, obviously, but we also have to respect the rules that are set up.”

Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement stipulates that players are not obligated to report for spring training until Feb. 22. Boone said he anticipates Stroman will join the team in the next couple of days, though he declined to share the specific date.

“He’s a prideful player,” Boone said. “He’s a guy that’s had a great career. It’s a little bit of an awkward situation, obviously. So of course I want him here, and I’m trying to keep nudging him to get here. But, again, you also have to respect the fact that this is something players are allowed to do. There’s a mandatory date and he’s choosing that right now.”

Stroman, 33, does not project to make the Yankees’ five-man rotation — a group that includes Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil — and is owed $18.5 million this season with an $18 million player option for 2026 should he log at least 140 innings in 2025. The Yankees, as a result, have tried trading the two-time All-Star to shed his salary, sources told ESPN.

“There’s always rumors — false, true — and, frankly, that’s usually above me anyway until something is real,” Boone said. “So, no, we didn’t get into that at all other than to acknowledge that there’s been, obviously, the noise and the situation that he walks into and having six, seven, eight starters, all that. He’s ready to compete.”

Stroman recorded a 4.31 ERA in 30 appearances (29 starts) across 154 2/3 innings in his first season with the Yankees and 10th as a big leaguer. The veteran did not throw a pitch in the Yankees’ 14-game playoff run to the World Series after being left off their American League Division Series and World Series rosters but put on the AL Championship Series roster.

“This is a guy that’s been an outstanding pitcher in this league for a long time with a lot of pride,” Boone said. “But, no, I don’t sense any animus between he and I, and I’m confident and comfortable that he’s ready to come in here and do his job at a high level.”

As for whether he believes Stroman’s decision will bother teammates, Boone said he will “pay attention to it.”

“It doesn’t change my opinion of Marcus,” Cole said. “I like him.”

In other news from Yankees camp, Cole, who is nearly a year removed from sustaining an elbow injury that sidelined him until late June, said he felt good after throwing touching 95 mph three times during a 25-pitch live bullpen session Thursday.

“A lot of strikes; some good shapes, too,” Cole said.

Cole said he’s healthy and ahead of schedule in his throwing program compared to recent years.

Also, prospect Eric Reyzelman was discharged from a local hospital Thursday morning after he was kept overnight following an allergic reaction.

“He came in here today in good spirits,” Boone said.

Reyzelman, 23, is a non-roster invitee in major-league camp after recording a 1.93 ERA in 21 games across three minor league levels last season.

SARASOTA, Fla. — Orioles left-hander Trevor Rogers isn’t expected to be ready for Opening Day after a partial dislocation of his right kneecap during the offseason, Baltimore general manager Mike Elias said Thursday.

Elias told reporters at Orioles camp that Rogers sustained the knee subluxation in January. It wasn’t clear exactly when or how Rogers sustained the injury. The pitcher is playing catch with the team in Florida but is significantly behind schedule.

Baltimore acquired the former All-Star lefty and first-round draft pick from Miami in a deadline trade for two top prospects this past July. Rogers was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk just three weeks later after going 0-2 with a 7.11 ERA in four starts. He allowed 25 hits and 15 earned runs over 19 innings.

Rogers provided a left-handed option for the Orioles’ rotation, though the team seems set for now with five right-handers. Offseason additions Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano have joined returners Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer and Grayson Rodriguez.

The 27-year-old Rogers has a 15-34 record with a 4.36 ERA in 84 big league starts, the first 80 with the Marlins from 2020 until the trade this past summer. Miami drafted with the 13th overall pick in the 2017 amateur draft out of Carlsbad High School in New Mexico.

Rogers was an All-Star in 2021, the same season that he finished as the runner-up behind Cincinnati’s Jonathan India for National League Rookie of the Year. He was 7-8 with a 2.64 ERA in 25 starts that year and struck out 157 batters in 133 innings.

Elias said second baseman Jorge Mateo, recovering from left elbow surgery on his non-throwing arm in late August, also likely wouldn’t be ready for the March 27 opener at Toronto even though he is playing catch and taking part in hitting progression.

Mateo got hurt July 23 in a game against Miami when he collided with shortstop Gunnar Henderson as they both dove for a grounder behind the second base bag.

The Orioles and the 29-year-old Mateo avoided a salary arbitration hearing when he agreed to a $3.55 million, one-year contract in January. The deal includes a $5.5 million team option for 2026. The option could increase by $500,000 based on plate appearances in 2025: $125,000 each for 460, 480, 500 and 520.

NORTH PORT, Fla. — Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. took batting practice at spring training Thursday, and right-hander Spencer Strider has already thrown a side session this week at their Florida camp.

While neither Acuna, the unanimous 2023 NL MVP, nor Strider, a 20-game winner from that same season, are expected to be ready for Atlanta’s opener while recovering from injuries, manager Brian Snitker said both are making good progress to be ready early this season.

“We’re going to make two really big trades at some point in time early in the season and get, you know, an All-Star and a potential Cy Young Award winner back,” Snitker told MLB Network.

Snitker said both players are on their own programs “because they are still in rehab.”

Acuna tore his left ACL on May 26, and the 27-year-old slugger had surgery on June 6. The 26-year-old Strider had internal brace surgery last April to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.

Along with BP on the field with teammates, Acuna has run sprints multiple times in the outfield already at camp.

“Ronald’s doing everything. You know, he hasn’t done a lot of the cutting and things like that,” Snitker said. “But, you know, I’ve seen him in Atlanta before I came down. And as you’re seeing right now, I mean, he’s doing great. I mean, he’s checking all the boxes. He looks great.”

Strider threw a side session Wednesday, the first official day of workout for Braves pitchers and catchers. He was 20-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 32 starts in 2023, when he led the league with 281 strikeouts.

“The ball’s coming out really good,” Snitker told MLB Network.

Acuna hit .337 with 41 homers, 106 RBIs and 73 stolen bases in 2023, when he became the first player in baseball history to hit 40 homers and steal 70 bases while Atlanta won its sixth NL East title in a row.

He played only 49 games last season before sustaining a complete ACL tear on May 26. He had a double in the first inning of that game, and his knee gave way when he stopped on a stolen base attempt to return to second base.

Acuna tore his right ACL on July 20, 2021, and returned the following April.