Giancarlo Stanton is redefining his Yankees tenure with playoff brilliance

Even before Giancarlo Stanton homered for a fourth time in the five-game ALCS on Saturday night in Cleveland, the narrative surrounding his tenure with the Yankees had been altered by another stellar October performance.And despite the roller-coaster ride that has been Stanton’s seven years in The Bronx, general manager Brian Cashman said there were no second thoughts about the move to obtain the oft-injured slugger and his massive contract from the Marlins prior to the 2018 season.“I never had any regrets about acquiring Giancarlo Stanton,” Cashman said before Game 5 at Progressive Field.A few hours later, the Yankees advanced to their first World Series since 2009, thanks not only to Juan Soto’s three-run homer that gave them the lead in the top of the 10th, but the game-tying two-run shot Stanton delivered in the sixth inning against Tanner Bibee, who fanned Stanton twice earlier in the game.“[Stanton] has been a part of our solution, not part of our problem,’’ Cashman said of the slugger, who was named ALCS MVP.“In the Octobers we haven’t gone as far as we wanted to and hoped to, it wasn’t because of him.

He did his part.”There’s no denying Stantons’s excellence in the postseason.In 36 career playoff games, Stanton has hit an astounding 16 homers over 149 plate appearances.He has a 1.019 OPS.Soto, who has 10 home runs in 38 playoff games, has a .906 postseason OPS and had his best October series of his career in the ALCS, with three home runs — including Saturday’s dagger.And Aaron Judge is at .761.But Stanton hasn’t played more than 114 games or had more than 459 plate appearances in a regular season since 2021.

And with him turning 35 next month, it’s hard to see that changing.Stanton has three years left on his deal and rebounded from the worst season of his career.“Last year was the first time he didn’t really perform as a healthy player,’’ Cashman said of a 2023 season that was brutal for both Stanton (.695 OPS, 2...