New York Yankees: Do the Bombers need Giancarlo Stanton?

Can you imagine if 2018 New York Yankees batting line-up was the following…Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Greg Bird, Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius, Starlin Castro, Chase Headley, and Aaron Hicks?

Well, rumor has it that the Yankees could acquire 2017 NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins in a trade deal that would send Jacoby Ellsbury and Chase Headley to the Sunshine State.

Just to give you an idea of how good Stanton is, any team that landed him would get significantly better. The Yankees are already primed to go next season, so adding Stanton is not a necessity, but more of a luxury.

Legitimately lethal at the plate, Stanton hit 59 homers and drove in 132 RBI last season. That goes along with his 85 walks and a slugging percentage of .631. Yes, Stanton does whiff a lot with 185 strikeouts, but that number becomes irrelevant as he is super-human everywhere else.

Point being is, any line-up would benefit from Stanton batting third.

Still, there are a lot of factors that have to go the right way for Stanton to end up in the Bronx with the biggest one certainly being the money.

Hal Steinbrenner has made it abundantly clear that the Yankees are not going over the $197 million luxury tax (cap). Considering Stanton is the highest paid player ever (signing a 13-year, $325 million contract in 2014 with a 2020 opt-out), who would have thought the Yankees could balance the books here.

The team has about $25 million to spend to stay under the cap in 2018. Now that Japan’s Shohei Otani is not giving any East Coast team the time of day, the Yanks need to add a starting pitcher for about $10 million. And if Hal asks the Marlins to take some salary in return (Ellsbury, Headley), to help offset the Stanton contract, the idea of paying him $25 million next season is doable.

This is not a Stanton for Ellsbury and Headley trade, as the Yanks are going to have to part with some top prospects to get the best player in baseball.

Stanton has a no trade clause but would waive it to play for the Yankees, Cubs, Astros, and his supposed favorites the Dodgers.

MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reported that the Cardinals and Giants have already sent reps down with trade packages to see if they persuade Stanton to add them to his list, but he turned the Cardinals down. While the Giants are still waiting.

Bottom-line is the competition for Stanton remains fierce, but not necessarily with the four teams he wants. The Cubs, Astros, Yankees and Dodgers already have enough proven talent to play in October.

Stanton is acting very high maintenance and the whole thing seems a tad stupid on his part.

The Marlins will trade everyone else if Stanton doesn’t get a legit trade deal from one of his final four, which will be miserable for him. But as they say you reap what you sow, and Giancarlo will kick himself down the line of this all doesn’t pan out.

From everything I am reading, I think the Dodgers will land Stanton, but of course I thought Japan’s Ohtani was a shoe-inn for the Yankees. Ohtani sent the East Coast teams packing day one, and signed with the Los Angeles Angels of all things.