The Houston Astros Dodged A Bullet By Missing Out On Giancarlo Stanton [Opinion]

The New York Yankees did the Houston Astros a favor by trading for Giancarlo Stanton

Did the New York Yankees do the Astros a favor?
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Baseball

The New York Yankees just did the Houston Astros a huge favor by trading for Giancarlo Stanton according to reports from The New York Times. While Stanton is the reigning NL MVP, he’s also one of the highest paid players in MLB. Yes, his massive year in 2017 was great, but by all accounts, it was a breakout year. When was the last time Stanton hit over 40 home runs or drove in 100+ runs? It only happened once prior to 2017.

Stanton had the Astros down as one of his four teams he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause for and a two days after that happened, the Yankees made their move. Good for them, but even better for the Astros.

A bit of history here for those who may have forgotten already. The Astros ARE the world champs and the rest of the league is trying to play catch up. The Yankees adding Stanton (59 home runs, 132 RBI) to pair with Aaron Judge (52 home runs, 114 RBI), and Gary Sanchez (33 home runs, 80 RBI) will give opposing pitchers nightmares, but last I checked, the Astros had the reigning AL MVP on their team.

How can we forget the great year Jose Altuve (24 home runs, 32 SB,.346 BA) had? And while the Yankees do have a powerful lineup, so does the Astros outside of Altuve. How many teams can boast with pride about having 11 players hit over 10 home runs, 10 players with 50+ RBI, and eight players with more than 200 plate appearances hitting over.270 on the season? These are a few reasons why the Astros didn’t need Stanton.

The other might be the most important. The money. The Astros are paying a large fee for the services of Justin Verlander, but the rest of the payroll reads like the Philadelphia Phillies’. Why add a player that’s due to make $295 million over the next 10 years to a lineup who gets the same production for cheaper and a title to match?

Stanton is good, there is no denying that, but the Astros are just better off without him. Yes, they might meet the Yankees again in the AL Championship and Stanton will be a factor, however, the Yankees could also fall apart for not focusing on their true needs– pitching.

While everyone is applauding the Yankees for this move, why not take a moment to offer a respectable head nod to the World Series champs, Houston Astros for not messing with their winning chemistry and destroying their payroll. At the end of the day, they’re the team everyone is chasing.