New York Yankees: Three realistic goals for Giancarlo Stanton in 2019
There is no New York Yankees player right now that is more polarizing than Giancarlo Stanton. But, love him or hate him, he is part of the team in 2019. With that, here are three realistic goals for him.
The New York Yankees made a huge splash when they got Giancarlo Stanton last offseason. It was the turning of the tides in terms of them going back to their “Evil Empire” ways.
The Yankees have the money and were willing to pay for almost all of his remaining contract that now has 10 years left on it.
It is an astronomical contract. However, it might not be as bad as you think. It is a long time, but it will not hold the Yankees back too much.
It is hard to blame the Yankees for this all. One, the Marlins gave him that ridiculous of a deal, not the Yanks.
Two, when the trade happened the Yankees were coming off a season in which they were a game away from winning the pennant and Stanton himself was coming off a year in which he hit 59 homer runs.
That is not a typo. The man was one home run shy of hitting 60. 60 in an MLB Season? That is incredible.
The Yankees trying to trade for Stanton when the opportunity presented itself was a no-brainer. It was a great trade at the time and Giancarlo still has plenty of time to prove that it still is.
Last year, was not the best of Stanton’s career. But, he was still outstanding and the best player on the Yankees (hot take, I know.)
Stanton was good for .266 average, 38 home runs, and 100 RBIs. That is an OUTSTANDING season for anyone who wasn’t coming off a 59 home run season.
Stanton might have under achieved, but it was based on a ridiculous, unsustainable standard he set the year prior.
He will likely never hit 59 home runs and have over 120 RBIs again, but that does not mean he is a liability.
So, with his first, and what will be his hardest season in the pinstripes behind him, let’s talk about what is next.
The Yankees may or may not get Manny Machado or Bryce Harper, but neither of them have any impact on Stanton.
He has a no-trade clause in his contract. It will take giving up and arm and a leg for the Yankees to trade him.
That is only if they want to, and they should not want to. He is, if I may, good at the game of baseball.
A horrific 2019 season might change the perception of him as a Yankee so let’s discuss how he can avoid that, by reaching these three goals.