TAMPA — I am old enough to remember when Giancarlo Stanton was Juan Soto.
When he was the offseason trade acquisition imported by the Yankees to team with Aaron Judge and mash opposing pitchers.
Stanton was coming off an NL MVP and 59 homers. The return package to the Marlins — two prospects with dubious upside plus the small-market Marlins actually eating $30 million of the contract — had Yankees officials all but high-fiving over fleecing Miami’s neophyte executive Derek Jeter.
It turned out that removing most of Stanton’s dollars was probably the best move of Jeter’s five-year administration. And a blight for Brian Cashman.
Because that was then. Now Stanton and Soto are separated by an empty locker in the Yankees’ spring clubhouse. But a baseball universe. Soto will be trying to prove worthy of $500 million-plus in free agency. Stanton will be trying to prove he still belongs as a lineup regular. In fact, we may be at the point where a Yankees official on truth serum would say the organization’s two biggest issues moving forward are: 1. Soto might leave after this season when, 2. Stanton will still be on the payroll for three more years.
When asked about the Yankees’ mega-offseason addition, Stanton said that it is going to be “fun to watch and see [Soto] and Judge tear apart the league, which is gonna be awesome and it’s our job to clean up after that.” That sounded like Stanton relegating himself to the chorus, while still in possession of the ninth-largest guarantee ($325 million) ever given a major-leaguer.
No doubt Soto’s acquisition should ease the one-man onus on Judge. But if this Yankees lineup is going to return to wrecking-ball quality, the chorus will have to sing. That means Anthony Rizzo being beyond his concussion issue. DJ LeMahieu having his base fully healthy and performing like he did the second half of last season. Gleyber Torres and Alex Verdugo — not just Soto — maximizing their walk years. Anthony Volpe taking a step forward and Austin Wells’ defense being strong enough to allow his lefty bat into the lineup.
And with Stanton approximating even 2021 when he batted 579 times and hit 35 homers and finished with a 136 OPS-plus — a season that looked a lot that year like Houston’s mighty Yordan Alvarez: 598 plate appearances, 33 homers and a .136 OPS-plus as opposed to last year when Stanton’s productive had overtones of Houston’s defense-first catcher Martin Maldonado.
What’s different now is the lineup is not as beholden to Stanton. The Yankees could put Trent Grisham in center, Verdugo in left, Judge in right and Soto at DH and argue the defense/offense combo is their best assemblage. That would move Stanton to the bench, if Aaron Boone has the nerve for that.
“If you don’t produce, there’s going to be adjustments and aspects to make the lineup as optimal as possible, so it’s my job [to be optimal],” Stanton said.
To that end, Stanton is notably leaner and says he feels better after his first fully healthy offseason in years. He said swing changes are afoot. It reflects Stanton, who has been a public realist about his decline, never shying away from accepting how unacceptable it has been to lose so much time to lower-half injuries while watching his production plummet.
“I don’t get paid to be a standup guy and say the right things,” Stanton said. “I’m here to produce. To help us win a championship. That hasn’t happened and it needs to.”
With Aaron Hicks and Josh Donaldson gone, Stanton became booed enemy No. 1 at Yankee Stadium. He said he doesn’t listen to “noise” — meaning more than just boos — and instead, “I understand the facts.” Those facts include that of the 250 players who had at least 350 plate appearances last year, Stanton’s .191 batting average was tied for the worst with Maldonado. His 87 OPS-plus was the same as Grisham, who was acquired as a fourth outfielder mainly for defense and speed.
Plus, there are the eight IL stints in the last five seasons, seven for lower-body injuries. Stanton went on for a hamstring strain last April, came back five weeks later and spent the rest of the season running as if not to break an egg in his shoes. At the GM meetings in November, Brian Cashman — while praising Stanton’s penchant to be productive when healthy before last season — frankly discussed Stanton’s injury history, saying, “He’s going to wind up getting hurt again more likely than not because it seems to be part of his game.”
Stanton’s agent, Joel Wolfe, initially clapped back at Cashman. On Monday, Stanton said he and the GM spoke and there are no lingering issues. And how Stanton reconfigured his body to put less strain on it was tacit acknowledgment that, at 34, he must pursue ways to stay healthy.
Because the Yankees still owe him four years at $98 million and in their best scenario, he is raking alongside Judge and Soto. In their nightmare, they are trying to decide not just how much to pay Soto, but having to keep paying Stanton — not to play for the team.
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