New York Yankees: Reassessing the Stanton-Castro trade
By Bill Felber
Giancarlo Stanton’s latest injury raises the question of whether the New York Yankees actually won that deal. Let’s evaluate that a little further.
It wouldn’t have been imaginable when the trade went down two seasons ago.
But today, with the announcement out of Yankee camp that a calf strain will sideline Giancarlo Stanton for at least the start of the regular season, it’s fair to inquire: Did the Miami Marlins actually fleece the New York Yankees in the trade that brought him to New York?
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The Yanks acquired Stanton in December of 2017 for veteran Starlin Castro and two minor leaguers: pitcher Jorge Guzman and infielder Jose Devers
Since then Stanton has given the Yanks one solid, Stanton-like season and one injury-plagued one.
In 2018, Stanton certainly delivered as expected. He hit .266 in 158 games with 38 home runs and 100 RBIs.
Last year, however, those injuries limited Stanton to just 72 plate appearances in 18 games. His production fell to just three home runs and just 13 RBIs.
Assessing trades, especially when they occur, is one of baseball’s great and easiest parlor games. In this case, the consensus was that the Yanks took full advantage of Miami’s payroll issues to fundamentally steal Stanton at the mere cost of one expendable middle infielder.
The expectation was that Stanton, who at the time of the trade had a contract paying him $285 million through 2027, would carry the Yankees to multiple World Series titles over the length of that contract while simultaneously becoming the face of the team.
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At the time, a CBS Sports analyst labeled the trade as “without question a salary dump.” ESPN said the trade “will potentially rock baseball for the next decade.”
But in the aftermath of the latest Stanton injury, it may be fair to revisit the question of who actually will end up “winning” the trade when all is said and done.