Giancarlo Stanton’s agent warns players against signing with Yankees

MLB

“To play for that team you have to be made of Teflon, both mentally and physically, because even in the off-season you can never let your guard down.”

Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees walks back to the dugout after striking out in the ninth inning against Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar during a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, September 17, 2023. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

The New York Yankees are not doing themselves any favors when it comes to winning agents.

In a interview with Gary Phillips of the Daily News Released Monday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said his team’s designated hitter and former all-star Giancarlo Stanton will be injured simply because that’s the type of player he is.

“We’re trying to limit the time he’s away,” Cashman said. ‘But I’m not going to tell you that he’s going to play every game next year. Because he isn’t. He’s more likely to get injured again because it seems to be part of his game,” Cashman said.

This statement did not sit well with Joel Wolfe, Stanton’s agent. Wolfe told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that players should be wary of signing with the Yankees because it takes impossible levels of fortitude just to be associated with the franchise.

“I read the context of the entire interview,” Wolfe said. “I think it’s a good reminder to all free agents considering signing in New York, both domestic and foreign, that to play for that team you have to be made of Teflon, both mentally and physically, because you You can never let your guard down even abroad. the low season.”

Wolfe represents several high-profile MLB players in addition to Stanton, including St. Louis’ Nolan Arenado, San Diego’s Yu Darvish and Boston’s Trevor Story. He also represents NPB’s Orix Buffaloes CEO Yoshinobu Yamamoto, one of the top players in this winter’s free agency class and someone the Yankees are reportedly interested in signing.

This isn’t the first time Cashman’s words have gotten him into trouble this offseason. Earlier in November, a month after the first postseason without the Yankees since 2016 began, Cashman told reporters that “I think we’re pretty good personally.”

In that same interview, he expressed pride in his Yankees for having the smallest analytics department in the AL East – in an era where analytics is taking over the competition – and so is anyone who accuses them of being governed as such “just throwing bulls***.”