Giancarlo Stanton’s Agent Responds To Yankees GM’s Critiques

The Yankees hope to use this offseason to improve their team after their worst season in over three decades, but Brian Cashman hasn’t done New York any favors.

The general manager was defiant against the team’s critics at the GM meeting in Arizona this month. He claimed the Yankees were “pretty (expletive) good,” but he ended up throwing an indirect shot at Giancarlo Stanton.

“He’s going to wind up getting hurt again more likely than not because it seems to be part of his game,” Cashman told reporters, per the New York Daily News’ Gary Phillips.

The quote was in larger context about how to improve the 34-year-old’s swing or mobility, which Cashman offered few answers.

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Stanton has dealt with multiple injuries throughout his Major League Baseball career, but it’s not the best endorsement when your general manager implies you’re a player who can’t be relied upon often.

His agent, Joel Wolfe, responded to Cashman’s quotes.

“I read the context of the entire interview,” Wolfe told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. “I think it’s a good reminder for all free agents considering signing in New York both foreign and domestic that to play for that team, you’ve got to made of Teflon, both mentally and physically because you can never let your guard down even in the offseason.”

Cashman could respond to Wolfe by noting that everyone might actually have Teflon in them, but the response from Stanton’s agent could have an immediate effect on the Yankees.

Wolfe also represents Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. New York needs a secondary starter to pair with Gerrit Cole, and Yamamoto fits that bill. However, the 25-year-old could be swayed to another team — like the Boston Red Sox — if he feels New York isn’t a clean fit.

Cashman’s frank media remarks also could sway Cody Bellinger, who is the top free-agent batter on the market not named Shohei Ohtani. The two-time All-Star hasn’t shied away from the spotlight playing with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, but if he’s debating between New York and another club, Cashman and Yankees leadership could be a tiebreaker away from signing with the Bronx Bombers.

Those scenarios certainly are what Yankees fans contemplated when Wolfe’s comments were released by Rosenthal, and Cashman’s job security would be questioned if the Yankees failed to secure a big-name free agent.