A star-crossed question from the Zone of Yankee Totality: Will Giancarlo become this year's Hicksie?

First, the obvious: It's too early to write Giancarlo Stanton's Yankee obit. Way too early. Let's save the funeral for, at least - say - April 20th. 

Badaboom. That's a joke. Seriously, everybody, Giancarlo will get about 140 plate appearances before the Yankees even think of punting on him. That outcome would likely include a fake stint on the Injury List. (MLB is supposed to be cracking down on bogus booboos, but who would doubt a Stanton injury? The guy strains something when he hiccups.) Either way, he's probably safe in the lineup through June. 

But 2024 could be remembered for the collision of two incredible celestial events. I'm not referring to the Great American Eclipse, which suddenly looks like a washout, but for two mammoth, star-crossed moments in future Yankee history.

1. The New Age of Yankee Giants - (that is, the ascension of Jasson Dominguez and/or Spencer Jones.)

2. The end of the Giancarlo Era.

Check their Paths of Totality. Dominguez might return from elbow surgery around June. He'd need a month in Scranton to shake off rust. By then, Jones would presumably have stomped Moosic to mush, forcing the Yankees to promote him. Either player's emergence could signal someone's Yankee doom.

Which brings me to Aaron Hicks. Last May 26, the Yankees jettisoned Hicksie after his entire game had seemed to disintegrate. He was rousing nightly boos along with the No. 1 pariah, Jackie Donaldson, hitting .188 and - especially distressing - covering LF like a leftover Covid cardboard cutout. No power, no average, no glove... no more Hicksie. The Yankees released him, he signed with Baltimore and immediately caught fire. Hicks eventually batted .275 with 7 HRs and helped guide the O's to a postseason where everyone shat the bed. (Note: He's now an Angel, hitting .167 with a HR; the Yankees will pay his salary through 2026.) 

We don't need another Hicks situation - especially one named Giancarlo, whose  contract runs into 2027, his 38th birthday. 

There is a point in many Yankee chronologies - a sad and horrible moment - when you start actually rooting against a guy, figuring he's beyond a comeback. It's not our finest moment, but it happens, especially with aging sluggers. They lose their edge, can't hit the fastball, and it's over - poof. They go from John Blanchard to John Mayberry. Happens to them all. The only question is how prolonged that final drought will be.

For Stanton, it could take a while. Our best scenario is for him to somehow stop lunging for breaking balls in the dirt, and to work himself back into prominence. Right now, he's the guy who hits a 500-foot HR every three weeks, and strikes out 50 times between them. He's already descending in the order. Unless he starts hitting, we'll soon see Soto and Judge as the everyday DH, with Trent Grisham in CF, and Gio waiting for ninth inning PH duties when Oswaldo or Trevino come up. 

Somehow - and I have no solution to this - the Yankees must keep Stanton from becoming this year's Hicks - that is, signing with a team that hates us and reviving his career, while we pay his ridiculous salary. 

Is there a way to do this? Or is it written in the stars?