The last seven days have offered a little bit of everything. Several teams continue to play very well in June, some big make players continue to slump and a new surprise team has taken over the lead in the National League Central.
In the latest edition of Stock Up, Stock Down, let’s take a look back at some of the good and some of the bad over the last seven days.
Stock Down: Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees
You can file this under, it’s just never going to work out for Giancarlo Stanton and the New York Yankees. I know, I’m not breaking any news. However, the fact that the Bronx Bombers still owe him $118 million is mind-boggling. What they’re getting from him is not good.
Stanton has three hits in his last 37 at-bats, one home run, 14 strikeouts, three walks, and a hit-by-pitch. He isn’t even getting the trust of manager Aaron Boone to be able to play in the field.
What’s making his struggles stick out, even more, is the Yankees’ offense which has basically been nonexistent in the absence of Aaron Judge. It’s one thing to be shutdown by good pitchers, but New York was just swept by the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park and did so by scoring just eight runs in three games, including five in the series opener … and they still lost by 10 runs.
Stanton getting hot is not going to solve the Yankees’ offensive woes, but it can go a long way into helping them fight off the Toronto Blue Jays and Red Sox and avoid falling into the AL East basement. This is a contract that GM Brian Cashman is stuck with and a player that is on the decline.