The Yankees need to forget about Giancarlo Stanton, wait for Bryce Harper

The rumor mill is swirling that the Yankees could be a potential landing spot for Giancarlo Stanton, but they need to wait for Bryce Harper, instead. 

Editor’s Note: This Yankees article was originally written on Friday evening.

After a very slow start to the offseason, business is starting to pick up with news regarding Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton. It was reported that the Yankees were one club which Stanton would waive his full no-trade clause for and fans went wild.

With fans already coming to conclusions that Stanton will all but be wearing the pinstripes come opening day, it is a much more complicated process which the Yankees should not want to get themselves involved in; especially with Bryce Harper being a free agent next offseason.

First of all, a deal for Stanton would involve New York giving up multiple top prospects to the Marlins and hurting the future for what could turn out being only two years of Stanton, considering he has an opt-out in his contract in two years.

It would be detrimental to the future of the franchise if the Yankees were to give up a top prospect like Gleyber Torres or Clint Frazier, only to have Stanton walk away after two seasons.

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Bryce Harper would be a better fit for the Yankees; he is a better defender than Stanton who could play in left field and is a left-handed hitter who is practically made to slug it out in Yankee Stadium. Harper is also three years younger than Stanton, which is significant when looking at long-term contracts.

In 2017, Harper slashed .319/.413/.595 with 29 home runs and 87 RBI’s in just 111 games. He was on pace to have one of the best seasons of his career and potentially win his second MVP award before injuring his knee.

It should also be noted that Harper has proven to be much more durable throughout his career than Stanton has. Last season was the first time since 2011 where Stanton appeared in 150 games or more.

The only problem with Bryce Harper is that the Yanks will have to wait until after the 2018 season in order to attempt to sign him, and by the looks of it Brian Cashman might want to go for it all, as soon as next year.

New York needs to wake up and realize that this team was not intended to compete until 2019 and they should not miss on Harper just because they are itching to win it all in 2018.

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It may seem like a fun idea at the moment to trade for Giancarlo Stanton, but the smart move, looking down the road is leaving Stanton alone and waiting until next year’s offseason to sign Harper.