Giancarlo Stanton's future with the New York Yankees is expected to come down to a question the organization cannot answer for him: whether he still wants to play. Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post wrote that her expectation is the decision will be Stanton's, and that the Yankees would give him a chance to continue if he wants it. "If he wants to try to play again and he is just 44 home runs shy of 500 I think the Yankees will give him that chance," Janes wrote. "Even if he is a semiregular designated hitter and a huge bench bat, his clubhouse presence probably justifies keeping him around."
The timing matters. If the Yankees do decide to move on from Stanton, this winter would be the cleanest financial exit they have had since acquiring him from the Marlins before the 2018 season. The club could part ways without absorbing the kind of financial hit that has made him effectively immovable in previous offseasons. Given the injuries that have defined his years in pinstripes, there may not be much reason to keep him around any longer, as unfortunate as that might sound.
Stanton is well-liked in the clubhouse and respected as a veteran. That matters to a team that has leaned on its leadership group through a postseason run. But the physical evidence from 2024 is hard to ignore. He hit three home runs this year because he played in 24 games. The year before, he hit 24 home runs because he played in just 77. His legs gave out on him this season, which Janes noted is not a good sign for a player who also deals with chronic elbow pain.
The 500 home run milestone is the kind of thing that keeps a player going. Stanton sits 44 shy of that number, which sounds achievable in theory. But the math gets complicated fast. His recent pace suggests he would need at least two more seasons of meaningful playing time to get there, and that would require him to stay on the field for 100-plus games per year. That is a threshold he has not cleared since 2018, when he played 158 games for the Yankees. Since then, he has been a part-time player more often than not.
Janes was careful to distinguish between what she expects and what she has heard. "I would not be surprised if he decides to call it after this season, though to be very, very clear, I have not heard anyone who would know suggest that is imminent," she wrote. That leaves the door open in both directions. Stanton could decide he wants another crack at the milestone. He could also decide that his body has told him everything he needs to know.
The Yankees have their own decisions to make over the next couple of months. They have a roster to shape and a payroll to manage. Stanton's contract has been a recurring problem for the front office, but the structure of the deal means this offseason offers a rare chance to move on without being punished financially. Whether they take that chance depends in part on what Stanton says first.
There is also the question of how much he can offer even when healthy. The version of Stanton who helped the Yankees through the postseason has shown flashes of the player who won the 2017 MVP award with the Marlins. But those flashes have become increasingly intermittent. His role has shrunk to designated hitter duties, and even that has been interrupted by repeated trips to the injured list.
The clubhouse presence argument is real. Veterans who command respect and keep a room steady have value beyond the box score. The Yankees have leaned on that kind of leadership before. But there is a limit to how much a team can carry a player whose production has fallen off as sharply as Stanton's has in recent years.
For now, the ball is in his court. The Yankees will make their own moves, but Janes' reporting suggests the organization is prepared to follow his lead. If he wants to play, there is a path for him to return, even in a reduced role. If he does not, the team has an exit that does not wreck their finances. Either way, the next couple of months will bring an answer.
According to Yahoo Sports.