Boston Red Sox: Three Reasons they must trade for Giancarlo Stanton
By Derek Snyder
2. Keep pace with the other teams in the American League
Even though the Red Sox were able to win another AL East title in 2017, it was clear that their lineup wasn’t built to compete in the postseason against the World Series Champion, Houston Astros. Not only that, but their arch-rival New York Yankees have two, young studs in Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge that can hit the cover off the baseball.
Needless to say, due to the other American League teams finding incredible power-hitters through their minor-league systems, the Red Sox must break open the checkbook and bring in Stanton this offseason.
According to MLB Stats, Boston finished the season ranking 11th in total runs-batted-in. While that isn’t necessarily something to be mad about, it should frustrate fans that there were five American League teams that finished higher than the Sox in that category. That said, it’s even harder to compete for a pennant whenever the top two teams in 2017 in runs-batted-in were the Astros and Yankees.
Again, by bringing in Stanton, Boston would add a proven hitter that just came off his best season as a big-leaguer. With the “Green Monster” in left field, Stanton could top his home-run total in 2017 if the Red Sox find a way to bring him north.