Aaron Boone joined Evan and Tiki on Tuesday, and the biggest takeaway C-Mac had from the interview was when Evan asked Boone if he could see Giancarlo Stanton mainly facing left-handed pitching moving forward.
“For the first time ever, there has been a somewhat of an acknowledgement of what Stanton has been…Even earlier this offseason and at the end of last season, he backed it up with ‘I wouldn’t be shocked if Stanton had a great year,’” C-Mac said. “I was ready for the answer. I was ready for Aaron Boone to turn around and go ‘Evan, you’re talking about Giancarlo Stanton. He’s one of the better hitters of his generation.’ Instead, Aaron Boone said two words - it doesn’t necessarily mean that scenario is going to happen - but he said two words I did not see coming. He said, ‘Not yet.’
“Meaning ‘It’s open,’ that they have thought about such things, that they are of the mindset that it is a plausible scenario.”
Stanton’s 13-year, $325 million contract is through 2027, so C-Mac says it is a big deal that Boone wouldn’t rule out Stanton becoming a platoon bat, which C-Mac believes could happen as soon as this summer when Jasson Dominguez is back from Tommy John surgery. Last year, arguably the worst of Stanton’s career, the oft-injured slugger posted a miserable .640 OPS against righties, but held a .942 OPS against southpaws in 74 plate appearances. Could the Yanks try to maximize his value by making him the most expensive platoon player in baseball?
“That’s a big deal for the Yankees,” C-Mac said. “Stanton is getting paid a lot of money. To admit he could possibly be a right-handed platoon player? To say ‘We’re not there yet’?”