MONSTER MASHERS
Giancarlo-Judge tandem could rival legends
First, there was Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig (left). Later, it was Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris (right). Now, after agreeing to a deal with the Marlins on Saturday, the Yankees have put together another power couple: Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge.
Say hello to the Bash Brothers, Bronx style.
If the Yankees’ doctors don’t find something wrong with Giancarlo Stanton’s hulking body, the reigning NL MVP will join a lineup that already houses Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez and led the majors in home runs last year with 241.
Right-handed power is at a premium in the big leagues, and the Yankees will have three of the strongest from that side of the plate.
“With an L-screen,’’ an AL scout said of the protective device used in batting practice when asked what advice he would give to his club’s pitchers about ways to pitch the 2018 Yankees.
If Stanton, 28, passes the physical, the deal — agreed to in principle — that sends second baseman Starlin Castro and minor leaguers Jorge Guzman and Jose Devers to the Marlins, could be announced Sunday or Monday.
Approached at the Kentucky-Monmouth basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and new manager Aaron Boone declined to talk about the blockbuster deal.
“Nothing to say,’’ Cashman said.
The Yankees received $30 million from the Marlins, which means they will pay Stanton $265 million for the next 10 years unless he opts out of the deal following the 2020 season.
Having two sluggers like Aaron Judge (52 homers) and Stanton, who led the majors in homers (59) and RBIs (132) last season, in the same lineup isn’t new. They join the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig; Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris; Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez; and Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco.
Yet, voices in and out of the Yankees’ organizations believed Gary Sanchez was their best overall hitter last season, when he batted .278 with 33 homers, 90 RBIs and posted a .876 OPS.
When healthy, Greg Bird was productive late last year. Didi Gregorius hit .287 with 25 homers and 87 RBIs and Brett Gardner is an effective leadoff hitter.
“It’s a lineup without holes,’’ an AL scout said of the 2018 lineup that Boone will fill out. “What you hope is that you catch guys when they are going through a slump, but they [Judge and Stanton] are so strong that even when they miss-hit balls they are strong enough to hit it out. Pitching carefully doesn’t apply to both those guys. You have to keep the ball down and even that might not matter. It must be nice to give Boone another bat.’’
Even by adding the 6-foot-6, 245-pound Stanton, who counts $22 million against the luxury tax this coming season, the Yankees can get under the $197 million threshold. It could impact their desire to add a free-agent starter along with CC Sabathia, but they could find an arm in a trade or pay some of the remaining $68.3 million on Jacoby Ellsbury’s contract if a team is interested in the veteran center fielder who lines up as the fifth outfielder at this point.
“We do not have as many weaknesses this winter as last,’’ Cashman said this past week.
That was certainly true in the outfield, where Judge, the AL Rookie of the Year and runner-up in the AL MVP race, was joined by Aaron Hicks and Gardner. But when Stanton told the Marlins he wouldn’t waive a no-trade clause in order to be dealt to the Giants or Cardinals, Stanton gave the Derek Jeter-led front office the Dodgers, his No. 1 choice, Yankees and Astros as teams he would agree to join.
And when the Yankees saw a chance to add Stanton’s bat and stay under the $197 million luxury-tax threshold, they couldn’t pass it up.
Who replaces the popular Castro at second will be flushed out in spring training. Stud prospect Gleyber Torres has played second in just five Triple-A games and is coming off Tommy John surgery in his left (non-throwing) arm. Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Wade could keep the position warm until Torres is ready.
Like every player, Stanton isn’t perfect. According to former Marlins employees, Stanton isn’t a strong clubhouse presence. And the scouting report on his outfield play is sketchy.
“He can’t go to his right, he is better going to his left,’’ an NL talent evaluator said of Stanton, who like Judge is a right fielder, so someone will have to be moved. “He isn’t a liability but not a difference maker.’’
Which is exactly what Stanton is at the plate and why he is a Yankee.