The Yankees are trying to complete a one-two punch of an offseason by adding both Juan Soto and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
But regardless of what external moves end up being made, there is plenty of room for internal improvements as well, perhaps none more important than getting Giancarlo Stanton back on track.
Part of that, according to his manager, may be Stanton getting a bit more nimble.
“I think you’re going to see a leaner Giancarlo – he’s always in great shape, but being at this point in his career, being a little lighter is gonna be something that serves him well,” Aaron Boone said last week at the winter meetings. “I think it’s something he knows and wants to do. I think we’ll probably see an even little lighter Big G. Hopefully that leads to him being more athletic on the bases and … not just an option in the outfield but a good option in the outfield. That’s, I think, something important to him.”
The 6-foot-6 Stanton, a physical specimen, typically has been listed at 245 pounds coming into recent seasons.
Entering the shortened 2020 campaign, he said he dropped 20 pounds in an attempt to rebound from an injury-riddled 2019, though he still wound up missing a month due to a hamstring strain.
But now the 34-year-old Stanton is coming off the worst season of his career.
He sustained another hamstring strain midway through April, came back at the end of May and never took off.
While his production suffered at the plate — batting .191 with a .695 OPS in 101 games — he also was noticeably limited on the bases as he tried to prevent another leg injury.
At the end of the season, Stanton said he would be making “a lot of changes,” but did not get specific.
Boone also was light on details other than Stanton getting leaner.
“I think he’s doing some different things,” Boone said. “I don’t want to get too much into it, but I will tell you I’m excited about the winter he’s having, where he’s going and what we’re going to see when we get to spring training.”
Of course, Stanton was far from the only Yankee to struggle at the plate last season.
He alone did not turn the Yankees into one of the league’s worst offenses.
But because Stanton has shown he is capable of being a threat, the lack of that in the middle of the Yankees’ lineup was sorely missed.
“I’m really excited about Giancarlo,” Boone said. “All I can tell you is he is getting after it. He’s always a very focused person and player. I would say that’s on overdrive to make sure he’s in a really good spot heading into spring training. I think he’s consumed with making sure that he goes out there and has a Giancarlo-like season.
“I think G’s got a big year in him, I really do.”
The Yankees need that to be the case, even after adding Soto to the heart of their lineup.
They still owe Stanton $98 million over the next four years and his no-trade clause makes him difficult to move.
Even if Stanton doesn’t get all the way back to his MVP form, a version closer to that will help lengthen the Yankees’ lineup and add more protection behind Soto and Aaron Judge.
Then there is the outfield component.
The Yankees have remade their outfield this offseason with Soto and Alex Verdugo set to man the corners on either side of Judge, but Boone’s hope for Stanton being a “good option” there echoed what Judge said at the end of the season: that if the Yankees gave Stanton the chance to play the outfield more and keep him moving, it could benefit the regular designated hitter.
“I want that to be an option, and it’s something he absolutely wants,” Boone said. “He and I, our conversations at the end of the year and him in some cases leading that, really wanting to make sure he’s as athletic and prepared to be a real option and a good option out there.”
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