Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton’s Status For Opening Day in Question Amidst Continued Elbow(s) Soreness
There’s now serious doubt about whether New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton will be ready to play on Opening Day next month.
Manager Aaron Boone revealed Sunday that the 35-year-old slugger will have his build-up slow-played this spring after experiencing immense discomfort in both elbows over the winter. He dealt with that pain throughout last season, particularly in the second half.
Stanton hasn’t swung a bat for three to four weeks while dealing with what the team has described as “tennis elbow.”
“I was dealing with it last year, so it was a manageable thing,” Stanton told reporters Sunday, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “We’ll just give it as much time as possible before we’ve got to get rolling for a full year here.”
The five-time All-Star has been receiving treatment on both elbows since arriving at the club’s spring training facility at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Sunday morning. He’s also been working on exercises to target his forearms, hoping they’ll help advance his recovery process.
New York held its first full-squad workout on Monday, but Stanton didn’t participate, as Boone had said he would not the day prior.
“Look, tennis elbow or whatever they call it, [there are] tears in your tendon,” Stanton said. “So [if you ask] when did it feel good, when did it feel bad, there’s always a pain level there. You’ve got to deal with that. It’s just the wisest point to give time right now.”
Despite playing hurt, Stanton enjoyed a respectable 2024 campaign, displaying his finest performance in a few seasons. He hit 27 home runs and drove in 72 while slugging .472 and producing a 116 wRC+ (100 league average) across 114 games – his most since ‘21 (139).
Though his production slipped following the All-Star break, with his elbow pain undoubtedly amongst the main culprits, few questioned his health as he exploded during the Yankees’ run to the World Series.
Last year’s ALCS MVP slashed .273/.339/.709 with an eye-popping 183 wRC+, providing seven home runs and 16 RBIs over 14 postseason contests. His much-improved plate discipline also impressed last October, considering he struck out in less than 20 percent of his 62 plate appearances.
“He was doing stuff [in the offseason] and then he kind of shut down and got treatments,” Boone said. “It’s just something we don’t want to rush, if we can get to a really good spot and know we’re going to have to probably deal with some maintenance with it throughout the year. We don’t want to force anything too early.”
Injuries have been a major concern during Stanton’s seven seasons in the Bronx, playing at least 120 games in just two of those seven, although one involved the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Even last season, one of his healthiest showings in recent years, he missed a month due to a left hamstring strain.
Since arriving in New York via a blockbuster trade with Miami in 2017, the former NL MVP has endured several lengthy IL stints, most of which have been lower-body related – primarily of the soft-tissue nature.
If Stanton begins this season on the IL, Boone will likely rotate multiple players through the DH spot until he returns. Aaron Judge would surely assume most of those hitter-only days, helping to preserve his health.
However, other veterans like Paul Goldschmidt and DJ LeMahieu could factor into the rotation, too.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.