Red Sox: Waiting for response to Yankees trade for Giancarlo Stanton
By Rick McNair
How the Boston Red Sox respond to this latest New York volley will determine not only this season, but future seasons. Giancarlo Stanton in pinstripes.
Scott Boras and J.D. Martinez need to get on Amazon and send a gift card to Giancarlo Stanton and the New York Yankees. The addition of Stanton just about seals any deal to get Martinez in Boston and quite possibly Eric Hosmer. In baseball, the new best thing is the home run and Boston is well behind in that category.
Let us not forget the Chicago White Sox and Jose Abreu. The Red Sox have been mentioned as a possible landing spot for Abreu and now that suddenly has some oomph behind it. Getting Martinez and Abreu could get Boston back into the home run mix.
Did the Red Sox fail? They may have had the assets to grab Stanton, but the key ingredient was Stanton, who apparently considers Boston the same way I consider a kidney stone. Boston was among the teams that Stanton firmly rejected so welcome to the club of lost hearts.
The Red Sox certainly need to respond and will – if they have the willingness to do so. The Sox have already publicly stated that they will exceed the luxury tax and that is good news for agents and players on the prowl for dough. And don’t forget teams willing to seek trade partners to cleanse the books of excessive contracts or avoid impending free agents.
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Boston is down 3-0 in the slugger competition and will most certainly respond. If they do not the howls from Red Sox nation will mean a rush on tar and feathers for ownership and their frontman – Dave Dombrowski. So far DD seems a few paces behind Brian Cashman and has since he came on board.
The Yankees may also have removed themselves from the star-studded list of free agents ready to hit the market after the 2018 season. One less Daddy Warbucks or maybe not knowing a New York proclivity for spending. Maybe Bryce Harper – a left-handed power hitter – will land in New York? But if New York succeeds this season the Red Sox could be tossing some serious money the way of Manny Machado and a few others.
New York also has pitching since pitching is the real driver of baseball success. This is not a team that is lopsided to the offense, but one that is very balanced. And giving up Starlin Castro will not hurt defensively as Castro is no Gold Glove threat.
The left-handed heavy Red Sox rotation will have some exceptionally careful pitching when facing New York with three right-handed sluggers in the middle of the lineup. Usually, the immense left field at The Stadium means that lefty hitters are the preference, but a look at Statcast shows ballpark will be very little to the triumvirate of Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Gary Sanchez.
The knee-jerk reaction is to simply fold, leave the table and concede the division title to the Yanks, but it takes a full slate of 162 games to decide an outcome. Baseball has an intriguing way of balancing the books with poor performances, injuries, internal strife that can disappoint all those spiffy projections.
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What this does do is make the suddenly relevant Yankees-Red Sox rivalry front and center. Game of the Week may be every Red Sox and Yankee encounter – a rating juggernaut – especially for three right-handed boppers with a tasty left field target at Fenway Park. Get to batting practice early, folks, and enjoy the pre-game and in-game fireworks.