Adding Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees is crazy -- and that's what makes it wonderful | Politi

This is the type of sports transaction that forces you to suspend all logic and common sense, the kind of blockbuster that makes your eyebrows climb to the top of your forehead and your jaw drop a couple inches.

Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees.

Wait a minute ...

Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees?!

The Yankees already have a right fielder who hit 52 home runs with 114 RBI and finished second in the American League MVP race. Now they are on the verge of adding another one who hit 59 home runs and 123 RBI and finished first in the National League MVP race.

That's utterly crazy and totally excessive and doesn't solve any of the team's pitching problems and is anyone else constantly refreshing the screen to find out if the ink has dried yet?

Joel Sherman, the veteran baseball columnist for the New York Post, tweeted early Saturday morning that a deal with the Marlins was "virtually done." The Yankees, he reported, would only give up second baseman Starlin Castro and second-tier prospects, which means the Yankees would not only be getting a superstar in his prime but would be stealing him, too.

Oh, there are questions -- lots and lots of questions, starting with the obvious: Where would he play? The Yankees already have a decent right fielder in Aaron Judge, who also happens to be a popular homegrown player coming off the finest rookie season for a power hitter in franchise history.

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The team could move Stanton between right field and the DH, or find a way to rotate him and Judge with other outfielders Aaron Hicks, Brett Gardner and -- yes, he's still on this team, for now -- Jacoby Ellsbury. That's quite a lot of shuffling for new manager Aaron Boone, who still hasn't filled out a lineup card in his life.

Stanton also comes with $295 million and 10 years left on the biggest contract in professional sports history. The Yankees are committed to getting under the $197-million luxury-tax threshold this season, which means the Marlins either have to eat some of that salary or GM Brian Cashman is going to need to do some creative accounting.

And did we mention that the Yankees still need starting pitching?

Look: There are a million questions about this, and that's part of what makes it so compelling. This is like trying to add an Emmy-winning actor to the cast of a hugely popular show. The details don't make a lot of sense, but you make it work and figure everything else out later.

Stanton is just one month past his 28th birthday and already has 267 home runs in his career. A lineup with Judge batting second, Stanton batting third and catcher Gary Sanchez (33 homers in 2017) batting fourth almost feels like having the Home Run Derby 162 times next year.

The Yankees led the majors with 241 homers last season. Could they possible top that? Better question: With Stanton added to that lineup, the all-time record -- 264, by the 1997 Seattle Mariners -- would be in serious jeopardy.

That, of course, depends on Judge continuing to develop as a complete player at the plate. It is possible, maybe even likely, that his production will take a step back. The same is true for Stanton, given only five players have hit more home runs in a season than he did in 2017. Three of them, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, are tainted by steroids, and the other two are Roger Maris and Babe Ruth.

Again, there are so many ifs and buts here, and who knows if the deal will get across the finish line. Adding Stanton to the Yankees lineup is completely crazy on so many levels, and that's what makes it wonderful.

Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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