Call to the pen
Fansided

Yankees: Stanton Flirting With Following in Line With Yankee Busts

By Manny Gómez|
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees in action against the Houston Astros during a baseball game at Yankee Stadium on June 22, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the the Astros 7-5. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees in action against the Houston Astros during a baseball game at Yankee Stadium on June 22, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the the Astros 7-5. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Despite years of consistent success, the New York Yankees have had their share of big money busts. This season, Giancarlo Stanton is struggling to stay off that list.

The list of big money busts is neverending for the New York Yankees and perhaps that’s the price you pay for being a big market team. However, it’s almost frightening how often a Yankee player with high expectations lands on the infinite IL.

Let’s take it back to December of 2004, the season the Boston Red Sox broke the Curse of the Bambino and took home their first World Series championship sing 1918.

Fuming after blowing a 3-0 series lead to their division rivals, the Yankees were committed to signing a big money free agent, and who better than the guy who beat them in the World Series just one year prior, Carl Pavano.

Say that name anywhere in the vicinity of Yankee Stadium and you risk being the victim of an act of violence. In four seasons (2005-2008) with the Yanks, Pavano tossed a grand total of 145.2 IP with an atrocious 5.00 ERA and 1.455 WHIP.

More from Call to the Pen

Then there’s AJ Burnett, who despite helping to deliver a World Series to the Bronx in 2009, was just about the worst starting pitcher in Yankee history. Prior to the 2009 season, Burnett was given a 5-year deal worth $82.5M.

Coming off of a season with the Toronto Blue Jays in which he lead the league in strikeouts, the Yanks felt they got themselves a quality #2 starter to follow CC Sabathia. Instead, they got a sub-500 pitcher who pitched to a 4.79 ERA and 1.447 WHIP in 3-seasons with the Yankees.

Luckily, the Yanks were able to trade Burnett to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for money and prospects 3-years into his 5-year deal.

This didn’t stop the Yanks from going after Jacoby Ellsbury, however. Coming off of the Red Sox’s 3rd World Series championship in 10-years, Ellsbury was the biggest free agent available. In need of an outfielder, the Yanks decided to give Ellbury a 7-year, $153M deal.

This deal is probably the worst one yet. 6-years in to his deal, Ellsbury hasn’t played a game since 2017. In fact, in 6-years, he averages less than 100 games played per season. Not only that, but he also is slashing .264 / .330 / .386. This, after slashing .297 / .350 / .439 in 7-years with the Red Sox.

And then there’s Giancarlo Stanton, who has undergone more injuries in half of a 2019 season than one can recount. Sure, it’s too soon to call Stanton a bust. He did, in fact, manage to play through injury last season and helped lead the Yankees to their first 100-win season since 2009.

This season, Stanton has only been able to play in just 9-games and is beginning to flirt with the line Pavano, Burnett, and Ellsbury sadly crossed. His latest injury, according to Bryan Hoch, is said to sideline the slugger until August.

Sure, you can’t blame injuries on a player, but some players — like Ellsbury and Pavano — are injury prone. For the Yankees sake, let’s hope that Stanton isn’t one of these players.

Home/New York Yankees