New York Yankees rumors: Club is now in the mix for Giancarlo Stanton

Giancarlo Stanton determined he wants to play for one of four teams, and the Miami Marlins aren’t one of them. However, the New York Yankees are involved now, so it’s a possibility he could don pinstripes in the future.

Everyone wants to play in New York, especially with the Yankees – except Shohei Otani.

After weeks of keeping San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals fans on the edge of their seat, Giancarlo Stanton expressed he is unwilling to accept a trade to either one. Boston was out of the loop last week, as were other contenders.

But with his rejection, he mentioned four teams he would be happy to play for. Now, the Marlins are honing in on trade deals with either the Yankees, Astros, Cubs or Dodgers.

Clearly, Stanton wants to win now. Luckily for new Miami owner Derek Jeter, each team possesses various appealing prospects in its system. But now the overarching question is whether the slugger is worth the money and players involved.

MLB analyst Buster Olney tweeted out a few possibilities of what could occur in the coming weeks. There are two big takeaways New York fans probably care about.

First, a boatload of prospects likely won’t be needed to acquire the outfielder, due to Stanton’s colossal contract. Second, a trade would allow the Yankees to dispose of anyone with a massive contract, including outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

For some sense of what MIA will get in return, remember this: the Texas Rangers traded A-Rod, a SS widely perceived to be the best player in MLB at the time, to NYY for Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias -- and Texas kicked in about 35% of money owed to A-Rod to offset salary.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 8, 2017

The Yankees, much like the other three teams, are in the driver’s seat. But the Bronx Bombers boast the biggest band of players with an MLB debut on the horizon.

General manager (or senior vice president) Brian Cashman must decide how he approaches this situation. He was masterful in stockpiling young talent in the past few years but also didn’t steer away from making trade deadline deals to push the team into a late October run.

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Yet, if Stanton is on his wish list in the holiday season, Cashman must prioritize which prospects to keep. Jeter will likely want at least one guy who is untouchable to most teams.

And, if Miami is willing to eat up prolonged, absorbing contracts, New York’s front office may consider it.

Stanton is the epitome of a primetime power hitter, one that Yankees fans adore.

A lineup with him and Judge would make almost any baseball fan tune in, just to witness a barrage of moonshots every week.

If Cashman and company acquire last year’s leader in home runs, he will sit in the middle of the lineup immediately. Olney disclosed what the lineup could look like should the Yankees strike a deal.

Of course, this is all hypothetical. However, it may not be as conversations continue throughout the hottest week winter has to offer – in MLB terms.

Stanton would help any team. Yet, New York might prematurely bargain the foci of the farm system just to earn a pennant, as the Cubs did. But a franchise should be the team’s goals, not a one-time winner.

Next year’s free agent class is loaded, and if the team is going to pay an excessive amount of money regardless, it much contemplates who will fit in the system – not just for 2018, but for the next decade possibly.

Next: How the Yankees can utilize Ellsbury...if he sticks around

The Yankees may be frontrunners. They may not be. With or without the slugger, they will be World Series contenders nonetheless.

Now we wait.

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