Brian Cashman Took a Not-So-Subtle Shot at Giancarlo Stanton
Brian Cashman is having quite the offseason so far. After proudly announcing that his New York Yankees weren't an "analytically-driven" organization, he's now taken a not-so-subtle shot at one of his highest-paid players. He essentially said he knows Giancarlo Stanton wouldn't be available for a chunk of the upcoming season because it's inevitable he'll be injured again.
When discussing Stanton's availability, Cashman said the following:
"We try to limit the time he's down. But I'm not gonna tell you he's gonna play every game next year because he's not. He's going to wind up getting hurt again more likely than not because it seems to be part of his game."
Did he really just say getting injured is "part of" Stanton's game? Woof.
He's right that Stanton has been injured every season since 2018. He's topped 140 games just once since the start of the 2019 season, and has played in more than 101 twice. He's been relegated to designated hitter duties due to suffering a rash of maladies. He's suffered a strained right biceps, a strained PCL in his right knee, a left hamstring injury, a left quad strain, right ankle inflammation and left Achilles tendinitis to name a few.
In the last five seasons, Stanton has only played in 391 games. In 2023 he slashed .191/.275/.420 with 24 home runs, 60 RBI and 124 strikeouts in 371 at-bats. Those numbers earned him a WAR of -0.8. It was not a good season and there's little reason to believe he'll have a massive, mid-career turnaround at 34-years old.
The Yankees traded for Stanton in December of 2017 when he was coming off an MVP season with the Miami Marlins. They didn't give up a ton to get him, but did take on his then-MLB record contract, landing him entering the fourth season of a 13-year, $325 million deal. He's owed $32 million in 2024 and 2025, $29 million in 2026 and $25 million in 2027 when he'll be 37 years old. New York holds a $25 million club option on Stanton for 2028 they will decline the first moment they're allowed to.