For much of this season, the New York Yankees have been slugging it out without one of their biggest bats. Giancarlo Stanton, the former National League MVP and perpetual home run threat, has been sidelined since early spring training.
Initially, it was referred to as “tennis elbows”—a term that sounds more like a country club inconvenience than a serious sports injury. But the truth, as it often does in baseball, eventually revealed itself with a harsher bite.
Torn Ligaments and the Long Road Back
Stanton hasn’t just been resting sore joints—he’s been dealing with torn ligaments in both elbows. That’s not your everyday soreness. This is the kind of injury that makes simple acts, like picking up a bat, feel like trying to lift a sledgehammer with a broken wrist. For someone whose swing is basically a human-powered trebuchet, that’s no small problem.
Thanks to PRP injections, a lot of rest, and the kind of rehab grind that never makes highlight reels, Stanton has finally started to see daylight.
Over the past few days, he’s been hitting off high-velocity machines, running, and reintroducing baseball activities to his routine. Then came Tuesday.
Taking Swings in Cleveland
When Yankees insider Max Goodman posted on X that Stanton was taking pregame batting practice on the field in Cleveland, it may not have stopped the presses—but it definitely turned some heads.
This wasn’t just another warm-up session. This was a man testing himself, in public, under stadium lights, against the ghosts of pain that have haunted his swing for months.
That BP session might not be glamorous, but in Stanton’s world right now, it’s as big as a triple in the gap. Because the clock is ticking, and the next decision could shape the rest of his season—or end it.
Pain or Procedure?
The Yankees are walking a tightrope with Stanton. If he can’t manage the pain, surgery becomes the only option—and with that, his season’s curtain would drop. So far, he’s on the right side of that razor’s edge, but it’s still a balancing act.
The next checkpoint: live pitching. Then, a lengthy minor league rehab assignment, because the last thing anyone wants is to rush a power hitter back just to see him crumble like a paper straw in a milkshake.
Crowded House in the Lineup
If Stanton does make it back, the Yankees will find themselves with an embarrassment of riches in the DH/first base logjam. Paul Goldschmidt, Ben Rice, and Stanton can’t all swing from the same spot in the order.
That’s a puzzle for manager Aaron Boone, but honestly? It’s the kind of dilemma most skippers dream about.
For now, Stanton’s taking his swings, one pitch at a time. And for the Yankees, that might be the most hopeful crack of the bat all season.