Yankees Rumors: Trading Giancarlo Stanton seems far-fetched

Could it be just one-year after acquiring four-time All-Star Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees are considering trading him to free up money for Manny Machado or Bryce Harper? Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe thinks so.

On Dec. 11, 2017, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman shocked the baseball world when he traded for two-time Silver Slugger, Giancarlo Stanton. Despite picking up the remaining 11 years and $320 million on his contract, the idea of adding the reigning NL MVP to an already potent Yankee lineup was too good to pass up.

When you consider Cashman only needed to surrender Starlin Castro, No. 9 prospect Jorge Guzman and shortstop Jose Devers — while also receiving $30 million to offset some of Stanton’s $25 million AAV, it seemed like a slamdunk for the Bombers’ chances of advancing to the World Series.

Unfortunately, Aaron Boone’s club fell to the Red Sox in the most recent ALDS, and a good amount of blame fell on the broad shoulders of Stanton, who went 4-for-18 with no home runs or RBIs and six strikeouts.

What many fail to recall is that in his previous eight big league seasons, Stanton had never even sniffed the postseason. However, that wasn’t good enough, even after a regular season that saw him lead the Yanks in games played (158), runs (102), homers (38) and RBIs (100).

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After losing one starter after the other during the 162-game marathon, there’s no way the Yanks would have advanced as far as they did without the mighty Stanton. He’s always been a high-strikeout guy (212 in ’18), so that shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone.

Without Aaron Judge in the lineup for seven weeks, had Stanton not been in pinstripes, do you actually think breakout rookie Miguel Andujar would have gotten the type of pitches to hit that he did? The answer is a resounding no.

Yet here we find ourselves, with rumors swirling of the Yankees potentially looking to trade Stanton to open payroll for the addition of another superstar; either Bryce Harper or Manny Machado.

According to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe, Stanton, who still wields a no-trade clause, could be dealt to a team of his choosing (the Dodgers?), allowing for more roster flexibility in the Bronx.

"There are also long-shot rumblings about the Yankees trying to move Giancarlo Stanton. Obviously it’s a massive contract, but if the Dodgers ever felt they needed to do something splashy, Stanton isn’t that far-fetched, since that’s one team to which he would likely approve a trade. Nor would it be far-fetched if the Giants wanted a big hitter to give their staggering offense a jump start, or if the Phillies decided to include Stanton on their list of superstars to acquire. Stanton has about $260 million remaining on his contract over the next 10 years. That would be cheaper than acquiring Machado or Bryce Harper. Stanton is 29 years old."

Unless Stanton has already had enough Bronx cheer’s for one lifetime, I don’t see him signing off on a trade just yet. With an opt-out following the 2020 season, we should fully expect Stanton to perform even better in ’19, now that he knows what it’s like to play when the lights are brightest.

After all, if there’s even an inkling of him walking away from a guaranteed $260 million in two years, (a $10 million team buy-out does exist in 2028), he’ll look to prove he can carry a club to postseason glory sooner rather than later.

If not, then perhaps a change of scenery becomes a reality next offseason. However, it’s too early to end the Stanton experiment just yet.