Austin Wells seemed to have a base hit that would have sparked a much-needed Yankee rally on Monday night, but Giancarlo Stanton froze on the line drive and made a retreat back to first base before the ball dropped into right field. By the time Stanton changed direction and darted to second, he was thrown out from right field in an eventual shutout loss.
Stanton’s baserunning has been a topic of controversy this season, as the slugger slimming down has not given him more speed or flexibility on the basepaths. It’s something BT and Sal have grown tired of.
“He’s just not a baseball player. They gotta move on from Stanton,” Sal said. “Stanton is a major problem. He can’t do anything! He is a liability! He is going to run into some fastballs and hit some home runs sometimes, great. The Yankees don’t need that. They need a ballplayer. They need some flexibility at that position…he’s on the basepaths, he’s a liability. He can’t play a position, and he clogs up the DH spot. He is a liability.”
BT has long been calling for the Yanks to move on from Stanton, and as his offseason work to slim down hasn’t seemed to make him more productive on the bases, the frustration is only growing.
“He is a massive issue,” BT said. “The roster construction is not where it needs to be.”