Every time superstar slugger Giancarlo Stanton finds his rhythm, he suffers another injury. The Yankees have dealt with Stanton’s lower body issues since acquiring him from the Miami Marlins in 2018. He played 158 games during his first year but hasn’t played over 139 since, and he has only played over 100 games three times in the last five seasons.
Ultimately, Stanton’s reliability has taken a big hit with age, and at 33 years old, he’s already dealing with a hamstring injury that will keep him out for a minimum of four weeks. However, based on his past injuries, I fully expect him to land on the back end of his return timetable, which could be six weeks.
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The Yankees need Giancarlo Stanton in their lineup:
Stanton was off to a solid start this season, hitting well, posting a .269 average with four homers and 11 RBIs. While his on-base rate was just .296, walking at a measly 3.7% clip, historically, that would always turn around and land somewhere in the 34% range.
However, his consistency has once again been disrupted, and he’s known to be a rhythm hitter that needs everyday at-bats to maintain his pace.
We’ve heard everyone complain about his durability issues but Stanton himself, who had a few strong words regarding his latest ailment.
“It’s unacceptable [being injured] this often right now,” Stanton said, per ESPN. “The team relies on me. I can’t have this continue to happen and put us in a really tough spot we weren’t prepared for. There are guys to fill the roles that’ll do just fine but at the same time, it’s my duty and responsibility to be out there.”
The reality is simple for the Yankees; he is irreplaceable. No matter who manager Aaron Boone features in the cleanup spot, they simply don’t have as much power as Stanton. The Yankees have been utilizing Gleyber Torres as their primary clean-up man the past few games, and while he has decent power, he’s currently going through a cold streak of his own.
Despite Stanton’s obvious displeasure, Boone came to his defense and indicated he’s doing everything possible to maintain his health, even if the results are inconsistent.
“The one thing I can say in Giancarlo’s case is I don’t question his professionalism and his commitment to doing all he needs to do to stay healthy and to be healthy,” Boone said Thursday. “So there’s clearly that frustration, and Giancarlo feels that responsibility. He feels a responsibility to this team and to this organization to be the great player that he is, but to be able to do it more and more often.”
At the very least, Stanton’s yearly injury is happening now and not heading into the playoffs, but that’s the only silver lining we can find. One other indirect positive is that Oswald Peraza has filled his roster spot and performed well on Thursday against the Angels. Getting him involved in the infield has been fun to watch, and he’s shown elite defense at second base over a small sample size.