The Yankees officially announced that Giancarlo Stanton gained’t be out there for the beginning of the season, because the slugger will probably be positioned on the injured record because of his recurring elbow points. The 2017 NL MVP Stanton obtained PRP injections in each elbows, and is predicted to return to the crew’s spring camp later this week after coping with an unspecified private matter in New York.
The announcement doesn’t come as any shock, as Stanton hasn’t swung a bat in 5 – 6 weeks due to continued soreness in his elbows. Two weeks in the past, Stanton and supervisor Aaron Boone described the issue as just like tennis elbow, with Stanton noting that some tendon injury had taken place. Whereas surgical procedure wasn’t being thought-about, surgical procedure would naturally change into an possibility (or inevitable) within the occasion of an precise tendon tear, which is why Stanton stated he and the crew had been being cautious of their method to the accidents.
No timetable was introduced for Stanton’s restoration, however in all probability the tip of April would symbolize a best-case state of affairs for the five-time All-Star to make his 2025 debut. A while will probably be wanted to judge Stanton’s elbows within the aftermath of the PRP therapy, and if all is properly, he’d then want to begin his standard ramp-up proceedings after lacking a lot of each spring coaching and even his pre-camp offseason work. Given Stanton’s lengthy historical past of leg-related accidents, he’ll want some prep time past simply hitting work, even when he’s going to be a DH-only participant this season.
Accidents have lengthy hampered Stanton’s profession, and saved from totally delivering on the whopping 13-year, $325M contract he signed with the Marlins again in November 2014. There’s nonetheless $96M owed to Stanton within the remaining three assured years of that deal, counting the $10M, although the Yankees are solely liable for masking $66M of that determine as per the phrases of the commerce that introduced Stanton from Miami to New York in December 2017.
Stanton has been fairly productive (.241/.323/.483 with 162 dwelling runs in 2,776 plate appearances) throughout his time within the pinstripes, and has can nonetheless appeared like one in every of baseball’s most harmful hitters once in a while. Nonetheless, these red-hot streaks have been countered by each prolonged slumps, and a number of other occasions when Stanton has merely been unable to play because of harm.
The 2024 season noticed Stanton miss about 5 weeks because of a hamstring pressure, although he bounced again fairly properly from a down yr in 2023. Stanton hit .233/.298/.475 with 27 dwelling runs in 459 PA final season, which translated to a 116 wRC+ even when low common and on-base numbers proceed to be a priority. The slugger then elevated his recreation in October, hitting .273/.339/.709 with seven homers over 62 PA throughout New York’s playoff run, and he captured ALCS MVP honors for his enormous efficiency within the Yankees’ five-game elimination of the Guardians.
Following up that nice postseason with one more important harm is undoubtedly an enormous frustration for Stanton as he enters his sixteenth MLB marketing campaign (and his age-35 season). The truth that these elbow issues are a completely new harm for Stanton could possibly be considered in one in every of two methods — both as a constructive that he isn’t once more coping with leg issues, or as a destructive that Stanton is now coping with elbow points on prime of the ever-present concern over his decrease physique.
With Stanton out, the Yankees may simply decide to fill the designated hitter spot with a rotation of gamers, to be able to unfold round at-bats and partial relaxation days for different veterans like Aaron Choose, Paul Goldschmidt or DJ LeMahieu. When it comes to general roster development, Ben Rice now seems to be to have a greater likelihood of constructing the Opening Day roster, and selecting up some DH at-bats himself.
An exterior addition can also’t be dominated out, if Stanton is dealing with an prolonged period of time on the IL. Reviews have already indicated the Yankees have been in touch with J.D. Martinez, maybe laying some groundwork for a future contract in case Stanton isn’t making a lot progress in a few weeks’ time. Including a outstanding veteran like Martinez, nonetheless, would additionally threaten to push the Yankees’ even additional excessive luxury-tax tire — RosterResource initiatives New York’s tax quantity at roughly $305.1M, and past the higher penalty threshold of $301M.
