In the winter of 2017, when it became clear that the Yankees were going to go for Giancarlo Stanton, I was a bit baffled. Yes, he can hit home runs, yes he'd be a wonderful addition to the lineup...but there was no consistency. He'd hit nearly 60 homers one yet, be injured for half the next year, skirt around 30 the next. And for a Yankee team to be worth it for me, you needed a level of consistency, because I didn't know how many good years Aaron Judge was gonna give us at that point, or who'd be behind him. So I didn't know if Stanton was the right choice.
We're currently around 5 years into the supposed 10 year contract in New York for Giancarlo Stanton. So far, he has been responsible for 104 home runs, not quite the 267 he hit in 8 years in Miami, and 282 RBIs. What is slightly alarming is that he's only accumulated a 9.6 WAR in these 5 years, as opposed to his 35.7 WAR with the Marlins. You can attribute this to a lot of things. 2022 is essentially only Stanton's third full season since joining the Yankees, even if both full seasons so far have come with 35+ homers, which are to Stanton's prior standards. His 2018 came directly after his massive 7.9 WAR 2017, so it would be hard to compare to that anyway. And he's been playing in the shadow of Aaron Judge, who's younger than him and also is still in his peak.
I still think that Giancarlo Stanton's an excellent player, we're lucky to have him, and I'm thrilled that he got to start an All-Star Game this year as a Yankee. I think that he's capable of keeping the consistency going as he rounds out his contract, and if Judge leaves, he'll be a perfectly fine offensive producer to rely upon. Right now Stanton has 24 homers, and so he's on track for another 35+ homer year if he stays on pace, as well as ensuring that the Yankees will have at least 3 25+ homer guys this year [if Rizzo similarly stays hot]. I think that, while he hasn't been perfect, he's been a suitable addition to these teams, has hit wonderfully when we've needed him, and has followed through on the promise of his Miami years.
Speaking of promise...yeah, Yankees are still looking pretty good. They've been a bit more loss-prone in July than they have for most of this season, and it's clear that the Astros are the only team that's definitively figured out how to beat them. But...so much is still working. Severino's out, but J.P. Sears isn't the worst replacement for him. Michael King is out, but Marinaccio, Schmidt and Abreu are perfectly capable of filling the void. And thank the baseball gods that Judge is getting hot again. I was worried for a second.
The Yankees have a lot to make good on, and hopefully they can stay hot as the other AL East teams retool and tough it out to the finish. It will be difficult, especially considering the unsinkable narrative the Yanks are trying to sell, but...it could happen. With an offense this powerful, it definitely can happen.
Coming Tonight: An outfield jack-of-all-trades who's doing exactly what the Mets signed him to do.
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