Yankees News: Aaron Judge, Dellin Betances Not Too Worried About Giancarlo Stanton’s Slump

Giancarlo Stanton was expected to make a huge impact for the New York Yankees after he was traded from the Miami Marlins. However, Stanton has yet to live up to expectations, and is actually struggling big time for New York early in the 2018 MLB season.

Stanton, who moved to New York after the stunning trade between the Marlins and the Yankees in December, is hitting 0.196 this season with only three home runs and seven RBIs against 22 strikeouts. His stats pale in comparison to his numbers last season, when he averaged 0.281 with 59 home runs and 132 RBIs for the Marlins.

New York fans are already expressing their disappointment over Stanton, which is actually not surprising because they have high expectations. But while the 28-year-old superstar is having a disastrous start this year, teammates Aaron Judge and Dellin Betances are not too worried about it.

Judge, who was one of the first players to welcome Stanton to New York with open arms, said that it is too early to panic. He pointed out that the California native is still adjusting to a new environment, and will eventually find his rhythm. Judge then assured that they’ve got Stanton’s back despite his recent struggles.

“Stanton’s a great hitter,” Judge said, according to NJ Advance Media. “It’s still early in the season. We’re going to look back on this in August and laugh about it.”

Betances also had the same take on Stanton’s early-season slump, saying that the former Marlins superstar is still adjusting to the competition in the American League. He said that coming to New York would be very hard for any player, and it will be much more difficult if the player is from a different league. The Yankees relief pitcher believes that Stanton is still on an adjustment period, but he is convinced that their new hitter will be fine down the road.

“There’s a lot of new pitching that he’s never faced before,” Betances said. “I think that’s the toughest part.”

Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media also agreed that hitters who switched leagues before struggled because of their unfamiliarity with the pitchers that they are facing. Miller also pointed out that Stanton cannot be judged based on his performance in the first two weeks because the right fielder also had slow starts for the Marlins before.

Miller added that playing at Yankee Stadium might have also affected Stanton’s rhythm, but fans should not lose hope, saying that the new Yankee is still on pace to have 48 home runs and 113 RBIs this season. He could even surpass it once he gets hot and find his usual rhythm wearing the pinstripes.