The New York Yankees have pulled off one of the biggest trades in recent baseball history by acquiring slugger Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins.
Stanton, 28, finished 2017 as the National League MVP after leading the Majors in home runs (59), RBIs (132) and slugging percentage (.631).
The deal is the largest by total dollar value in the history of team sports. Stanton's 13-year contract is worth a total of US$325 million ($430m). By comparison, the deal which brought footballer Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in August was worth $270m over five years.
Only twice before in baseball history has a reigning MVP been traded, first in 1914 when the Chicago White Sox acquired Eddie Collins from Philadelphia, and again in 2004 when the Yankees got Alex Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers.
"I'm glad to be here and part of the New York Yankees," Stanton said as he was introduced during Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings in Florida.
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"This is going to be a great new chapter in my life and career and I want to thank everybody involved to get this done."
Stanton was one of only two players to hit more than 50 home runs in 2017, with the other - Aaron Judge - already on New York's books. The only other time in Major League history that a team boasted two players who had hit 50 home runs the previous season was when the Yankees fielded Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1962, a year after Maris had broken Babe Ruth's record by hitting 61 homers.
Stanton said he had only met Judge briefly during the All-Star Weekend but the pair were excited to play together.
"I've spoken to him in the last couple of days and we're excited, excited to get better together and use our talent together," the outfielder said. "We're very similar, we can learn from each other and make each other better."
