Throughout MLB’s All-Star Week festivities in Seattle, all eyes appeared to be locked on Shohei Ohtani. That’ll happen when you’re the best player in baseball and on the verge of the biggest payday the game has ever seen. Could the Yankees be in the mix? You know they’ll at least kick the tires on it, but what does Ohtani have to do with Giancarlo Stanton?
The Yankees had been interested in Ohtani for years before he finally became available as an international free agent prior to the 2018 season. But as has been well-documented, the Bombers didn’t even make it to the final stage of the Ohtani sweepstakes then. The team located the furthest from the west coast that did was the Chicago Cubs.
That was a long time ago now. Ohtani is likely much more comfortable/familiar with the United States than he was then. Plus, he loves Yankee Stadium, so that counts for something, right?
On SNY’s Baseball Night in New York, Andy Martino, John Harper, and Bryan Hoch discussed the possibility of Ohtani actually playing in New York. Martino mentioned that the chances of him landing in Queens with the Mets are very low. What was most interesting here are the comments made by Hoch (starting around the 2:30 mark):
Shohei Ohtani was the center of the baseball universe last night at the All-Star Game.@martinonyc, @NYNJHarper and @BryanHoch discuss the possibility of the Mets or Yankees trading for the best player in the game at the deadline & if he will even be traded pic.twitter.com/ajCq4sviEg
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) July 13, 2023
So, there’s the connection between Ohtani and Giancarlo Stanton. On December 3, 2017, Hoch published an article saying the Yankees weren’t among the finalists to sign Ohtani. Less than a week later, Hoch reported that New York made a different major acquisition — they had traded for 2017 NL MVP, Giancarlo Stanton.
Stanton has produced three seasons of 30-plus homers since landing in the Bronx. He’s also typically been a solid performer in October (.963 OPS and 11 homers in 27 games). But the last couple of seasons hasn’t been as great. So far in 2023, he’s hitting .203/.276/.426 with nine home runs and 23 RBI in 163 plate appearances.
While New York waits for a return from Aaron Judge, eyes are on Stanton as one of the veteran hitters who need to pick up the slack. The 33-year-old needs to find his old form for that reason. Well, that and because he’s signed through 2027 for annual salaries ranging from $25-32 million.
The Yankees are receiving a “huge windfall” from their recent agreement with Starr Insurance. However, Stanton’s presence on the roster could prevent them from making a serious play for high-priced free agents, like Ohtani, or eventually, Juan Soto. So, we’ll eventually see what happens. But either way, it seems like Ohtani and Stanton will be connected in some way for Yankees fans.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
