Giancarlo Stanton is going to be a Yankee...

by Brian Erni December 09, 2017 0 Comments

The Yankees and Marlins have agreed to a trade that will send reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton to the Bronx.

Oh...great.

sources: yankees and marlins have a deal for giancarlo stanton
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 9, 2017

The takes are coming fast and furious. Here’s mine:

Yes, it sucks he’s going to be a Yankee, if for no other reason than it makes them better. Combine that with the reality that the return the Marlins are getting — Starlin Castro and low level prospects — is essentially a joke. In fact, Castro is reportedly already on the trade block.

Hard to believe Starlin Castro ever puts on a #Marlins uniform. He's already on the trade block.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 9, 2017

I’d venture to say that no Mets fan was really aching to see the Yankees reloaded this quickly and with this much firepower. And with the young core they have, the bullpen they can utilize to shorten games, and two of the best sluggers in the world in the same lineup, they’re set to be legitimate World Series contenders for the next decade.

There is good news. He’s out of the NL East, and that means the Mets won’t see him 18 times a year. That’s big, because this guy absolutely assaults the Mets. In 108 career games against them, he’s hit 38 homers, driven in 81 runs, and posted a .268/.356/.571 slash line. That includes 21 homers and 43 RBI in 52 career games at Citi Field.

If the Mets are going to contend for a playoff spot, it behooves them to not only to have a weak team in their division that they play 18 times, but also to keep Stanton off clubs that could be in direct competiton for a Wild Card berth, such as the Giants and Cardinals, two teams Stanton declined to waive his no-trade clause for. That might sound like spin to simply make Mets fans feel better, but there’s truth to it.

That doesn’t mean this isn’t frustrating, too. The Yankees are probably the team that needs a guy like Stanton the least, but even as they look to get under the luxury tax threshold, they didn’t resist the temptation to go out and get a generational talent. Maybe that’s part of the reason why the Yankees were on Stanton's list and the Mets weren’t, even though they’re geographically separated by about 12 miles. Giancarlo knows the Yankees will do whatever it takes to get to the Canyon of Heroes. It’s not fair to bash the Mets for losing a sweepstakes they were never in, but it is fair to wonder why they weren’t in it in the first place.

Hard to trash the @Mets for not trading for Stanton. Stanton named 4 teams with his FULL no trade clause. Yanks 1of4 It's like saying You should've gone all in for J-Lo after the divorce. No not A-Rod, YOU at home in your mom's basement had a shot. #BeMad@Yourself pic.twitter.com/28ln1Pjfjt
— Nelson Figueroa Jr. (@FigSNY) December 9, 2017

Maybe Derek Jeter never would have dealt Stanton inside the division. Maybe the Marlins have no interest in anyone in the Mets’ system. But it feels like a team in the same market who also has some nice young pieces, and has been to a World Series more recently than the Yankees should have at least been in the mix.

The Mets will benefit from seeing Stanton six times a year as opposed to 18. And maybe that helps them feast on the Marlins en route to a playoff berth. But the way Stanton flexed his muscles and used his no-trade clause to his advantage showed he wanted to play in this city, just not in Queens. That should be enough to make the Mets organization give themselves a long, hard look in the mirror.