Giancarlo Stanton’s outlook for Opening Day is growing dimmer, as the Yankees have flown the star slugger back to NYC to have him meet with team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad according to Randy Miller of NJ.com. He reports that the team will have him consult with Dr. Ahmad, undergoing testing and other procedures to try and figure out what is causing the immense pain in his elbows.
Initially diagnosed as a case of tennis elbows, the Yankees have been unable to map out a timeline for his return, and with the extended absence, there is growing concern that he could miss Opening Day. A notoriously injury-prone slugger, the Yankees are aware of the issues that come with Giancarlo Stanton and his durability, but they also know how important that bat is to the middle of their lineup.
Yankees Hoping to Find Answers On Giancarlo Stanton’s Elbow Injury
With about a month until Opening Day, the Yankees are hoping to find a remedy to Giancarlo Stanton’s elbow injury and get him back to speed. They initially believed this was a matter that could be resolved with rest, but a lack of progression may have made the organization less willing to sit by and let this continue to fester. Stanton is a big-time bat for an offense that lost some serious HR power earlier this winter when Juan Soto walked and his presence would be missed.
The timeline for Giancarlo Stanton is currently unknown, but elbows can be tricky for position players since they don’t have the same effect on performance that they do for pitchers. Hitters, especially ones like Stanton who exclusively DH, can actually play through a torn UCL if they have one, but the pain that he is dealing with seems to be hampering his swing at the moment.
Until Dr. Ahmad sits down with Giancarlo Stanton and examines his elbow, it’ll be very hard to know the severity of this injury at the moment. The Yankees are praying for good news on Stanton not only because he’s a key part of the offense, but also because they have a glaring hole at third base.
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This is a conversation that will run for as long as the Yankees do not add a third baseman, the team does not have enough internally to fill out that part of their roster. They lack enough depth to platoon, as while Oswaldo Cabrera is a solid bat against RHP, they don’t have a competent hitter against LHP on the roster. DJ LeMahieu and Oswald Peraza have not proven to be MLB hitters over the last year, and the Yankees don’t seem to be enamored with either player.
Peraza has been held down in Triple-A for each of the last two seasons with the Yankees not showing much urgency to play him, likely a result of their internal evaluation of him. They also don’t seem to be in love with LeMahieu, whom Bob Klapisch reported isn’t someone the team is fully sold on at the moment. The Yankees need to add an infielder if they want to round out their roster, and without Giancarlo Stanton, that need becomes even more pressing.