It is not dreaming anymore, the Yanks will have a new Murderers’ Row

In the previous blog post, I was dreaming about a possible addition of Giancarlo Stanton to the lineup of the New York Yankees. Well, according to MLB.com, the Yankees have reached an agreement with the Marlins about getting Stanton.

It is clear the Yankees will get Giancarlo Stanton. Who they have to give up is not clear yet. MLB.com stated the Marlins were looking for several high-level prospects but that Starlin Castro’s name was mentioned as well. Castro has two years and about 24 million dollars remaining on his contract; for sure a lot cheaper than the eleven years and the 295 million dollars Stanton has remaining on his contract. It is not clear yet if the Marlins will eat a part of Staton’s contract but it is safe to say the Yankees will not duck underneath the Luxury Tax threshold.

Last month, both clubs also hammered out a smaller trade that handed the Yankees extra international bonus pool money so the Yankees could afford more to get Shohei Ohtani, who decided to sign with the Angels yesterday.

With Stanton in their lineup, it looks like a four-headed monster with sluggers Greg Bird, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez. Add the 20+ home runs of Didi Gregorius and the Yankees will be a powerhouse. If these players can put up their 2017 numbers the Yankees will be good for about 150-180 home runs.

This deal will have quite an impact on the free agent market of the 2018/2019 offseason. The Yankees were considered to be one of the most important suitors of Bryce Harper. All of a sudden Harper is not needed anymore.

But before Yankee fans become overly enthusiastic, despite his promise to lift his no-trade clause, Stanton still has to approve the trade.

Slowly it becomes clear that Starlin Castro is a part of the deal indeed. But reportedly the Marlins have put him on the trading block already. With about 38 million dollars and three years remaining on his contract, the Marlins are wary of keeping him as they want to slash their payroll. According to MLB.com, the Yankees have to give up two minor leaguers next to Castro but the Marlins will pay them 30 million dollars next to sending Stanton to New York.

The two minor leaguers the Yankees will be sending to Miami are Jorge Guzman and Jose Devers according to baseball columnist Joel Sherman. Guzman, a right-handed relief pitcher was acquired from the Astros in a trade. He played for the Staten Island Yankees in 2017, where he posted a 5-3 record with a 2.30  ERA and a WHIP of 1.04. He kept his opponents to a .212 batting average. According to experts Guzman has outstanding numbers matched with excellent stuff, fastball reported as high as 103 and works at 97-99; slider and change-up are erratic but his command of the fastball and the velocity was too much for most NY-P hitters; tremendous ceiling, though we need to see him at higher levels.
Jose Devers is a shortstop who split the 2017 season between the DSL Yankees and the GCL Yankees. Devers had a combined batting average of .245.

Looking to the two minor leaguers the Yankees have to give up, they have the best part of this trade. Only Guzman is a top twenty prospect, ranked seventh. Devers isn’t mentioned in the top twenty of Yankee prospects.

It looks like the Marlins were very eager to get rid of Stanton or Brian Cashman learned Derek Jeter a lesson how to hammer out a good trade.