5 reasons why the Yankees should trade Giancarlo Stanton

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees in action against the Houston Astros during a baseball game at Yankee Stadium on June 22, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the the Astros 7-5. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 28: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees reacts after striking out during the eighth inning of the game against the Baltimore Orioles during Opening Day at Yankee Stadium on March 28, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

4. Stanton strikes out too much

At his best, Stanton is a dominant slugger who strikes fear in the hearts of pitchers throughout the major leagues. Even when he’s on top of his game, he still strikes out an awful lot for an elite hitter.

His career high 211 strikeouts during his first season with the Yankees really diminished his ability to be an elite force in the middle of the team’s lineup. Perhaps more concerning is the way in which quality pitchers managed to get him to K so many times beginning with the 2018 season.

The book on Stanton now is amazingly simple. He struggles to catch up to fastballs that are elevated in the strike zone. That makes him very susceptible to power pitchers with anything resembling average command.

Stanton can still beat up on below average pitching during the regular season, but any time the stakes are raised his strikeout rate seems to increase. That makes him a poor choice to play in high-leverage regular season or playoff games.

Strikeouts are more acceptable in today’s game than ever before, but Stanton takes it too far. It prevents him from being the elite hitter the Yankees need him to be.

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