New York Yankees: Cameron Maybin the better option over Giancarlo Stanton?

New York Yankees, Cameron Maybin
May 1, 2019; Phoenix, AZ, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Cameron Maybin against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s start with a little New York Yankees trivia to start this topic at hand. One player is earning $26 million in 2019 and the other $471K, can you name them?

Here’s a hint, the title gives it away. Stanton, the Yankees’ big-name acquisition from 2018 is making about 52X more than Cameron Maybin, a journeyman outfielder who is a career average player.

However, Maybin has proved to be a major impact player in 2019, hitting .314 on the year prior to a calf injury that has sidelined him for about three weeks. Maybin is closing in on a return, though, as he will be designated for minor league assignment next week.

The question I want to ask is: 

Are the New York Yankees better off starting Maybin or Stanton?

By default, the Yanks really don’t have much of a choice but to play Stanton, but his numbers don’t exactly scream consistent. So far in 2019, he has just 31 at-bats, hitting .290 with one homer. Maybin, on the other hand, has 118 at-bats and has proven that he’s capable of handling an everyday load.

Aside from his consistency this year, Cameron is an elite base runner and steady defender. He’s played a minimum of 20 games at every outfield position, recording exactly zero errors.

In Stanton’s eight total defensive games, he has one error. From every angle, Maybin looks the better player this season, and his return should see him start in left field for the foreseeable future given his bat remains steady. I imagine once Stanton returns he will take over, but only due to his price-tag — otherwise, the red-hot Maybin should be the choice every day of the week.


Injury update:

Aaron Boone stated that Giancarlo Stanton’s rehab has not been progressing at the ideal speed, this is the slugger’s second injury of the season and it’s proving to be significant once again.

“Better, but still slow,” Boone said. “Not baseball activities yet, just continuing to work on stabilizing things, making sure the quad is built up and strong, doing things in the weight room. Moving slow, but talking to G, too, he feels like he’s making some progress where the first couple of weeks were frustrating because it was slow-moving.”