Twitter is alive this morning with reports of the Yankees finalizing a trade deal for Giancarlo Stanton that would feature Starlin Castro going to the Marlins with some prospects. Stanton is owed $295 million over 10 years with an opt out in 2020. SU says this is a mistake by the Yankees. Consider:
- The Yankees have some talent in the minor leagues ready to make an impact. They are young, fast, get on base, can cover the outfield. Most importantly, they will make contact.
- Gleybar Torres can slide into 2nd base with Castro gone which is fine. However, you will still need to find a 3rd baseman at some point or maybe Chase Headley will get his own 10-year deal. But this is minor in the overall scheme of things.
- Most importantly, the addition of Stanton makes the line up a series of power hitting, swing and miss batters. SU says how much power do you need? It’s enough with Judge, Sanchez, Bird, Didi. This is overkill and quite honestly, will make watching games more boring. Fans sitting around waiting for a home run or a strikeout. Seriously: not entertaining, not enjoyable, not inspiring. What’s fun about this Yankee roster is that many are minor leaguers who spent time in the Yankee system. Stanton is a great talent but he is another all or nothing, home run or bust hitter.
- Taking on another $300 million contract will hurt their ability to get some more pitching. That is the need right now – starting pitching.
- All long-term contracts end badly. It’s a fact.
SU is unhappy. Trading for Stanton is an over-reaction to not getting Ohtani. SU says Cashman and Hal should take a deep breadth and do some meditation. This is the wrong move for this franchise. And by the way, if you have a line up of only home run power hitters, you don’t need Aaron Boone and any analytics.
So, what do you all think?
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Agree but unfortunately the Yankees may be estimating what it will cost them to get either Harper or Machado next year and be concluding that Stanton is a “bargain”- also drooling over the marketing opportunities of pairing him with Judge
I am sure Scott Boras is upset as he wants to use the Yankees to jack up the Bryce Harper bidding.
Are you crazy. This is a George Steinbrenner move. It’s like adding Durant to the Golden State Warriors. How is that working out.
Yes…. we have alot of potential prospects. The operative word is OPERATIVE.
Who cares who plays 3rd base. That player will get to see alot of juicy pitches.
One starting pitcher and we have to be the favorites to win it all.
WELCOME BACK GEORGE. I MISS U.
PS Fo r what we have up for a 5 tool player….how great a deal is this. And tell me u won’t be tuning in to every game even Moore now.
I say they will be over matched against strong pitching just like in the playoffs. They are going to have an extraordinary number of strikeouts every game. A station-to-station team. Feast on the bad teams with bad pitching and struggle mightily against the top pitchers where speed and making contact is important. Stanton is a big swing and miss guy — hot and cold and when he’s cold, really cold like Judge.
Stanton gets on base. Last year, his OBP was .376, just a notch below Jeter’s career .377 OBP. Plus, he hit 59 HRs playing half his games in a much-more-spacious-than-Yankee-Stadium ballpark. Seems like a lot of upside for the Yankees.
High on base percentage is a result, I think, of no protection in the line up in Miami. Easy to just pitch around him. I would rather spend the money on pitching. Otherwise, will be another playoff series loss in 2018 before the World Series.
Miami’s team slash line of .267/.331/.431 in 2017 was about the same as the Yankees’ .262/.339/.447… and the Yankees had the benefit of a DH in the lineup. I’m not sure if a team’s slash line correlates with any batter’s protection, but it seems like it would.
Could be ARod signing all over again and would hate that. On the other hand teamed with Judge, it could be Mantle and Maris again. Wanted them to get Alex Cobb after Ohtani went away so agree need another pitcher. Hoping they dump Ellsbury salary as part of the deal but doesn’t sound like it. A lot of must see at bats next year but agree too many strikeouts coming as well.
Glad it’s not my money!
Great tweet from Didi: “Hey, Skip, am I still batting 4th?”
Shocked at SU response. As a Met fan, my reaction was that the Yankees are gonna win at least 2 World Series in the next 4 years. Boring to watch? With Stanton and Judge potentially back to back in the lineup? I wish the Mets were that boring. I’ll watch all the time and I’m not even a fan. And as much as the contract may hamstring them in a few years, if you win multiple titles nobody will care.
And just read that even with Stanton they stay below the luxury tax? Crazy!
The Evil Empire is back and I officially hate the Yankees again. You can’t blame Cashman for exchanging an ounce of silver for a pound of gold. If Frazier and Sheffield were part of the trade it might be considered fair but this seems to be a straight salary dump by the Marlins. The commissioner should step in to protect the integrity of the game.
As far as the Yankees go, I agree with you 100%. This is overkill and not an ideal lineup. A team needs a balanced approach with a combination of contact power and speed. It also helps to have a balance of veterans, prime aged and youthful players, not just for salary cap purposes but for an overall complimentary balance of experience, and enthusiasm and leadership in the clubhouse.
The Yankees were on an ideal course to long term success and have veered off path in pursuit of the ultimate fantasy baseball team. It is a shortsighted move that I predict will harm the Yankees in the long term. This makes me happy because it is now easy to officially be a Yankee hater again. Sorry Aaron and Didi, you suck again!