Recently, National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton was traded from the Miami Marlins to the New York Yankees. There have been mixed reviews pertaining to this trade. Some people believe that since Derek Jeter is currently the CEO for the Miami Marlins, he manipulated Stanton to leave the Marlins and become a part of Jeter’s old team, the Yankees. Initially I thought that Jeter, in some way, influenced Staton to go to the Yankees, but now I realize that there was much more to the trade than what meets the surface.

For years, the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros have been rebuilding their teams in order to bring home the title of World Series Champions. Pertaining to the Stanton trade, that is precisely what the Marlins are trying to do. The Marlins have not won a World Series since 2003 and are currently trying to rebuild their team.

Stanton did not want to be a part of this rebuilding because he wanted to be apart of a team that is going to win “now”.

He had three options: St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, and the New York Yankees. Initially he only received offers from the Cardinals and the Giants, but from the beginning Stanton did not want to be apart of either teams. Apparently, the Marlins threatened to keep Stanton for the rest of his career if he did not accept the trade from New York or St. Louis.

But in the end, he received an offer from the Yankees and chose them.

Some people are also questioning the equality of the trade. The Yankees received National League MVP whereas the Marlins received 2 prospects and Starling Castro. On the surface it seems like an unequal trade but with the Marlins among the midst of rebuilding, they seem satisfied with their end of the bargain. Also in November 2014 Stanton signed a contract for $325 million and has been underpaid for the past few years. The Marlins payroll was unable to abide by Stanton’s contract and therefore wanted to trade him. The Yankees are financially able to honor the rest of Stanton’s contract for the next couple seasons.

This upcoming season is bound to be an exciting one for the Yankees. With their lineup including Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, who knows what this upcoming season holds.