ARBITRATION LOSS ANGERS STROMAN

Toronto pitcher Marcus Stroman met with Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins on Friday, one day after the 26-year old right-hander’s salary arbitration loss triggered him to vent on Twitter.

Stroman received a raise from $3.4 million to $6.5 million — instead of his $6.9 million request.

“The negative things that were said against me, by my own team, will never leave my mind,” Stroman tweeted Thursday. “I’m thick-skinned, so it will only fuel the fire. Can’t wait for this year!”

A year earlier, he beat the Blue Jays in arbitration and received a raise from $515,900. Toronto had submitted a $3.1 million figure.

Volquez returns to Rangers.

ARIZ.» Edinson Volquez SURPRISE, agreed to a minor-league contract with the Rangers, returning to his original team with a chance to be a candidate for the rotation in 2019.

The 34-year-old Volquez won’t pitch this season while he recovers from ligament-reconstruction surgery on his right elbow last August.

Vargas pitching for Mets.

Allstar pitcher Jason Vargas and the Mets agreed to a $16 million, two-year contract, adding depth to a New York rotation that has been riddled by injuries the past two seasons.

Footnotes.

Pitcher Bud Norris and the Cardinals finalized a $3 million, one-year contract as the team started spring training workouts. … Pitcher Dan Straily of Miami and Brandon Maurer of Kansas City lost their salary arbitration cases, giving big-league players an 11-10 lead with only one decision remaining. … Cincinnati pitcher Jake Ehret has been suspended for the first 50 games of the season under baseball’s minor-league drug program after his second positive test for a drug of abuse.