Giancarlo Stanton will make New York Yankees a fantasy juggernaut
Get ready for Home Run Derby every night in the Bronx.
The New York Yankees are on the verge of acquiring National League MVP and home run champ Giancarlo Stanton. They already have American League MVP runner-up and home run champ Aaron Judge.
Between the two right-handed sluggers, they hit a total of 111 home runs last season.
Get ready for the inevitable comparisons to the legendary power-hitting duo of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris from the 1960s. (Or more like the Oakland A's Bash Brothers, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, of the 1990s.)
For fantasy owners, it's an embarrassment of riches -- and it marks the third elite player to join an AL team in less than a week.
Angels win Ohtani sweepstakes: Japanese star bolsters rotation, lineup
Mariners add Gordon: All-Star 2B will play CF in Seattle
The Yankees led the majors in home runs last season with 241 -- and that was without Stanton in the middle of the lineup.
MLB.com's Statcast guru Mike Petriello wrote about how many homers Stanton may have gained or lost last season had he played his home games in other parks.
One park he didn't analyze was Yankee Stadium -- which just happened to be the second-most homer friendly venue in the majors in 2017.
Meanwhile, Marlins Park was one of the worst hitter's parks in the majors in 2017. It ranked 28th in promoting scoring and 25th for home runs, according to ESPN's Park Factors.
If Stanton could hit 59 homers playing in a terrible hitter's park, how many could he hit in one that's hitter-friendly? 60? 65? 70?
We're about to find out.
The new Bronx Bombers
On second thought, the comparison to the 1960s Yankees may not be the most accurate. This year's team may be more like the 1927 Murderer's Row lineup many historians consider the greatest offense in baseball history.
And while the home runs are the most obvious contribution the combination of Stanton and Judge will make to the lineup, don't forget Stanton had a .376 on-base percentage last season and Judge ranked third in the majors at .422.
The Yanks are reportedly sending second baseman Starlin Castro to the Miami Marlins as part of the Stanton trade, so an early projected lineup might look something like this:
LF Brett Gardner
RF/DH Aaron Judge
SS Didi Gregorius
DH/RF Giancarlo Stanton
C Gary Sanchez
1B Greg Bird
CF Aaron Hicks
3B Chase Headley
2B Gleyber Torres
Both Stanton and Judge have been right fielders throughout their major league careers, so one of them would have to move to left field -- or more likely designated hitter.
And without Castro at second, the Yankees could go with utilityman Ronald Torreyes, sign a free agent or turn to Torres, their top minor-league prospect.
Not a bad set of problems for first-year manager Aaron Boone.