Yankees Rumors: Giancarlo Stanton Won't Opt out of $218M Contract

New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton will not opt out of his contract, which has seven years and $218 million remaining after this season.

Jon Heyman of WFAN Sports Radio and MLB Network provided the report on Stanton, who has four home runs, 10 RBI and a .261 batting average in 21 games in 2020.

The Yanks traded for Stanton, the 2017 National League MVP and two-time home run leader, during the 2018 offseason. The ex-Miami Marlin smacked 38 home runs, drove in 100 runners and hit .266 in 2018.

However, injuries have forced Stanton off the field for all but 39 games over the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He's hit seven homers in 157 plate appearances during that span while striking out 47 times.

Stanton, who played his first eight seasons with the Marlins, inked a 13-year, $325 million contract with the team prior to the 2015 campaign, per Cot's Contracts.

The Yankees traded infielder Starlin Castro and a pair of prospects in right-handed pitcher Jorge Guzman and shortstop Jose Devers for Stanton.

Devers, 20, hit .322 in 2019 for the Marlins' rookie-league team and a pair of their Single-A affiliates. He's listed as the No. 13 prospects in the Marlins' farm system with an estimated big-league arrival time of 2022, per MLB.com.

Guzman, 24, got the call up to the bigs this season and pitched for one game, allowing two earned runs in one inning pitched. He went 7-11 with a 3.50 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 138.2 innings for Double-A Jacksonville in 2019.

Castro, 30, had 34 home runs, 140 RBI and a .274 batting average for the Marlins during his two seasons in Miami. He signed as a free agent with the Washington Nationals last offseason and hit .267 in an injury-shortened campaign that lasted just 16 games due to a broken right wrist.

The Yankees ultimately got the best player in the deal, and it's certainly possible that Stanton returns closer to his All-Star form and shows off his prodigious power during the life of his contract.

He's also healthy and hitting cleanup for the Yanks against his old team in the Marlins on Friday, so he could be ready to help the Yanks win their first World Series in 11 years with the postseason starting Tuesday.

However, injuries have clearly prevented Stanton from coming anywhere close to his full potential in the Bronx. The Yanks can only hope that he's able to stay healthy and launch mammoth homers like he's shown in the past decade.