photo: Kolten Wong, Giancarlo Stanton (Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images)
I want to start by saying what this article is not. It is not a complaint about Giancarlo Stanton agreeing to a trade to the New York Yankees. It is also not a slam on the Bronx Bombers, an iconic franchise if there ever was one.
What this article is, however, is a wish that Stanton had remained quiet about his brief flirtation with the St. Louis Cardinals (and San Francisco Giants). The two clubs had separately worked out trades with the Miami Marlins, but were rejected when they did not meet Stanton’s standard for places he wanted to play.
Don’t get me wrong. Stanton played his hand well by leveraging rights given him by the Marlins to veto any trade he did not agree with. He did what he needed to do and ended up in a place he wanted. Good for him.
In remarks made on Monday, the slugger made it clear that having a chance to win “this year” is his priority. Not very creatively, it seems, his four approved destinations were the four participants in the 2017 Championship Series – the Yankees, Astros, Cubs and Dodgers.
Here are Stanton’s exact words on the Cardinals and Giants: “They’re historic franchises, so I knew that they would figure out how have a great product on the field within a few years, but I wanted to be ready this year.”
Stanton’s reasoning does not pass the sniff test with me.
The outfielder acknowledged that the Cardinals could return to the elite in the future, but all of the sudden, we are being asked to accept that winning in 2018 is paramount and by his selection of trade targets, that reaching the LCS in 2017 is the determining factor.
If that was really the case, the same teams would be back in the post-season every year.
As a reminder, Stanton’s contract has 10 years remaining and his first and only out is not until the 2020 season.
Why the short-term thinking about a long-term commitment?
I get that St. Louis is no longer a prime destination, but the reality is that the Yankees’ recent history is not any better than St. Louis’ – except for 2017.
Specifically, New York has just two playoff appearances in the last five years, with the only one in that group prior to 2017 being a one-and-done Wild Card loss in 2015 – which happens to be the year St. Louis last won 100 games. In 2016, New York finished in fourth place with just 84 wins, not unlike where the non-starter Cards finished last season.
Yes, New York has a formidable offense, but that does not guarantee future success. As The Cardinal Nation writer Paul Ivice commented on Facebook Monday evening, “The Yankees have insufficient starting pitching and are relying on bullpen depth in an era when few relievers have consecutive strong seasons.”
But, again, this is not about the Yankees. My point is that one could also consider the Cardinals to be on the verge, with strength in pitching, but needing offense. And of course, the hot stove season is far from over, with additional changes ahead that could reshape any team, the Cardinals included.
What I am saying is that neither the Cards nor the Yankees – the latter which fired long-time manager Joe Girardi after the 2017 post-season and will be breaking in an inexperienced new skipper in Aaron Boone – have a certain future.
Here is another data point. Yes, the addition of Stanton improved the Yankees’ current odds of winning the 2018 World Series from 11/1 to an MLB-best 5/1. But the Cards are far from an also-ran, sitting fourth in the NL and eighth overall at 18/1. How much would their odds have improved had Stanton joined their roster? How much further might they improve with the next acquisition and the next?
My bottom line is that I would have preferred that Stanton not said anything about St. Louis than to offer an explanation that does not fully hold water.
I fully understand that Stanton did not want to play in St. Louis, but I don’t believe we still know the real reason.
Why couldn’t he have just left it at that he wanted to play in New York? Period. I could accept that.
For more
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Brian Walton can be reached via email at thecardinalnation@gmail.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.
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