The New York Yankees had been struggling this week, taking two consecutive series losses to the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox. Even when they’re winning, it feels like they’re losing, as Giancarlo Stanton exited the game early after scoring on a Gleyber Torres RBI double. Trent Grisham entered in his place at DH, and the Yankees have announced that the star DH is dealing with left hamstring tightness. With Everson Pereira undergoing season-ending Tommy John Surgery and Jasson Dominguez being sidelined with a significant oblique injury, this couldn’t come at a worse time.
After getting off to a strong start with a 126 wRC+ and .492 SLG%, Giancarlo Stanton will undergo imaging tomorrow on what could be a pretty tough blow for the Yankees.
Giancarlo Stanton Exits With Left Hamstring Injury, Yankees Announce
Last season was a disaster for Giancarlo Stanton, who posted an 89 wRC+ and -0.5 fWAR across 101 games with the Yankees. This season has been a complete turnaround for the high-paid slugger, as he’s increased his production across the board and has come up in huge situations for the team. One of the team’s best run producers, he has 18 home runs and 45 RBIs in 68 games, getting particularly hot in the month of June.
The Yankees have dealt with a flurry of blows to their outfield depth in recent weeks, and while Giancarlo Stanton hasn’t played a single game on the field this season, not many options appeal as a call-up candidate. Ben Rice was recently promoted, but at Triple-A your 40-man roster guys consist of Oswald Peraza, Jorbit Vivas, and Agustin Ramirez. They haven’t hit much in Scranton, although Vivas and Ramirez are extremely inexperienced at the Triple-A level.
Perhaps they act on their reported interest in someone like Garrett Cooper in the free-agent market, but his bat hasn’t provided much. They could look at some options internally that aren’t on their 40-man roster, with Jose Rojas having a 131 wRC+ in Triple-A, but nothing they do will likely replenish the production they could lose if Stanton were to have a serious injury.