Could Giancarlo Stanton opt-out of his contract with the New York Yankees?
With the 2020 baseball season in jeopardy of happening at all, the New York Yankees will have to deal with a multitude of expiring contracts, including Zack Britton, J.A. Happ, James Paxton, Brett Gardner, and Masahiro Tanaka.
Giancarlo Stanton, on the other hand, is in the middle of a massive 13-year, $325 million deal. Currently, he’s in the sixth season of this deal, earning $26 million with an opt-out after the 2020 season. Stanton’s contract only increases in annual pay, indicating that he will likely stick with the Bombers for the foreseeable future. His deal reaches a peak of $32 million for three consecutive seasons.
The primary issue is that Stanton hasn’t lived up to his contract in recent seasons, spending a majority of the 2019 campaign struggling to remain healthy. He suffered through biceps, calf, and other soft-tissue injuries, logging a minuscule 59 at-bats with 13 homers. This was the lowest number of plate appearances he’s ever recorded, showing relatively motivating injury-history before joining the Yankees.
I believe that the previous strength and conditioning regimen are at fault for Stanton’s injuries, as a focus on power might have forced specific muscle groupings to be overworked, increasing the probability of injury. However, the New York Yankees hired Eric Cressey to take over their strength operations, which should hopefully mitigate the concern the Bombers were forced to prioritize.
Nonetheless, Stanton’s opting out of his deal is extremely unlikely, since the Yankees represent the best opportunity for him to earn some World Series hardware and he can cash in big-time during the process.
Stanton’s deal will last until 2027, and he has a $10 million buyout or $25 million team option for 2028. He will ultimately remain a Bomber until he’s 37 years old, and physical degeneration remains a potential issue after his most recent injury concerns. He has dealt with knee injuries in the past, forcing him out for some time, but those issues seem to be a thing of the past.
Despite his troublesome 2019 campaign, Stanton did have a solid 2018 campaign where he smashed 38 homers and 100 RBIs. If he can replicate his past performance moving forward, the Yankees will be in good shape, despite the allocated funds.