The 6-foot-6 larger-than-life Giancarlo Stanton was officially introduced as a Yankee and has some big expectations for his new club.
Good Morning Yankee family! Although the calendar says that it’s the 12th of December, it certainly feels more like the 25th for New York Yankees’ fans everywhere as the Bombers’ new toy Giancarlo Stanton put on the pinstripes for the first time yesterday afternoon.
Reminiscent of the Aaron Boone press conference, Boone opened things up by saying, again, “this is a day of celebration.” Only this time, Boone was helping Stanton put on his new jersey instead of someone helping him put on his new gear. Once it was on, however, it was all things Giancarlo.
“It’s going to be a great new chapter of my life and my career.” – @Giancarlo818 pic.twitter.com/ppaWeOJtIC
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) December 11, 2017
The freshly shaven 2017 NL MVP fielded a variety of questions in his first presser as a Bronx Bomber, ranging from where he thinks he’ll play in the field to why he didn’t approve the deals that would have sent him to either the St. Louis Cardinals or the San Fransisco Giants. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand offered Stanton’s best response to the latter question.
Stanton: “I gave them the teams I wanted. New York was definitely at the top of the list.”
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 11, 2017
As collected as any seasoned-Yankee, Stanton received and responded to all questions in a direct and confident manner that makes it easy to understand why so many people love this guy. As far as where he will play, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch had this to contribute.
Cashman on where Stanton will play: “Right field, DH, maybe left field.” Said that Stanton has been open to whatever the team wants.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) December 11, 2017
Hoch went on later to say that Yankees GM Brian Cashman informed Aaron Judge of the Giancarlo Stanton deal before pulling the trigger, and said that the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year was “pumped”.
The X-factor in all of this, that no one is really talking about, is the fact that the dude rocks the number 27, representative of the number of Championships the Yankees have and the year of the greatest Yankee team of all time: Murderers’ Row. And now, Stanton himself is going to be a part of Murderers’ Row version 2.0. Just saying. Maybe 90 years from now, they will look back on the 2018 team with similar regard.
Regardless, there are going to be a myriad of No. 27 jerseys seen throughout Yankee Stadium this season and for the next decade now that the big slugger is officially a member of the Big Apple Bashers.
What’s On Second
In related news; with Starlin Castro being the centerpiece of the return package to the Marlins for Stanton, to paraphrase Brad Pitt said as Billy Beane in Moneyball, “If someone hits the ball to (second base), we don’t have anyone there to catch it.” Now, the situation is not quite that dire, but here’s what Brian Cashman had to say about it, via Hoch.
Cashman said that the Yankees do not have a second baseman they can name today. He mentioned Gleyber Torres, Ronald Torreyes, Tyler Wade & Thairo Estrada as candidates.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) December 11, 2017
Another thing that gets lost in the whole Stanton deal is that if the Yankees do actually achieve their goals of winning it all in 2018, Castro will have been traded away the offseason prior to his former club winning a championship twice now in his career. You can’t help but to feel for a guy like that.
The Santa No-Trade Clause
With the addition of another top outfielder to the already crowded depth chart at the position, many believe that Jacoby Ellsbury is the odd man out and should be the one to go. Unfortunately, it’s not even kind of that easy as the speedster has a no-trade clause and according to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman, the centerfielder doesn’t feel obligated to lift said clause.
Yankees are believed willing to pay half or so of the 68M to go on ellsbury in a potential trade. Bigger hurdle: getting him to waive full no-trade clause (he wants to stay)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 11, 2017
You’ve got believe that Cashman and company are doing everything in their power to make such a deal, but even if they do find someone to take it on, Achy Jakey could still exercise his veto power and be content with being a ridiculously overpaid pinch runner. Let’s just hope that the Bomber Brass finds that perfect scenario for Ellsbury and we can put all of this nonsense behind us.
Things That Make You Go Hmmm
Have you ever wondered why there are so many teams named the “Yankees”? You know; the Staten Island Yankees, the Tampa Yankees, the New York Yankees, your son’s little league team, etc. Well, the Tampa Yankees are doing their part to help minimize the Yankee confusion, according to MLB.com’s Matt Kardos.
Tampa #Yankees Announce Re-Brand as Tarpons For 2018 Season – https://t.co/TBizVF4vMy
— Matt Kardos (@mattkardos) December 11, 2017
What an outstanding name for a team residing in that part of the country. By the way, if you have a minute, you should take a look at some of the responses in that Twitter feed, there are some serious gems to be found.
I leave you with this thought of the day: With Castro now gone to Miami, does Aaron Boone go all 2003 by putting the old number 14 back on?
That’s all from Yankee Universe for now. But be sure to stay locked in right here at Elite Sports NY for all of your Yankees news and notes.
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