Giancarlo Stanton is now not in Tampa.
The designated hitter, who reported to Yankees camp shut down with two tennis elbows, retuned to New York on Monday for testing and an appointment with workforce doctor Dr. Christopher Ahmad, based on a number of stories. NJ.com first famous Stanton’s departure, although it’s unclear if the go to is said to Stanton’s elbows.
On Sunday, Aaron Boone was requested for an replace on Stanton. He solely talked about that the previous MVP was getting therapy and that there was “nothing imminent” so far as the slugger resuming baseball actions, although he’s finished some gentle agility work.
Stanton’s availability for Opening Day has been doubtful since he reported to camp though he performed by his elbow ache for many of final season and all through a torrent postseason. He opted in opposition to surgical procedure within the offseason and stated he wasn’t fearful about presumably needing a process when he spoke to reporters on Feb. 17.
As a substitute, Stanton and the Yankees conveyed a plan to slow-play his spring coaching ramp-up.
“Just gonna give as much time as possible before we gotta get rolling for a full year here,” Stanton stated. “Definitely not just soreness. It’s a manageable thing. That’s how last year [went] and this year will go.”
Requested if his elbows worsened over the offseason, Stanton stated, “The pain was very high in general.” He declined to say precisely when or how the problems first popped up, however his elbows started hurting about two months aside final season.
Stanton, who has an extended historical past of lower-body accidents, added “absolutely not” when requested if he ever thought-about sitting in the course of the Yankees’ run to the World Sequence, a stretch that noticed him complete seven residence runs, 16 RBI, a 1.048 OPS and an ALCS MVP Award.
Dropping Stanton may critically harm the Yankees’ lineup after he loved a bounce-back, comparatively wholesome season in 2024. The workforce already misplaced Juan Soto to free company, and newcomers Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt are not any locks to resemble their former MVP selves.
The Yankees have a couple of various choices at DH ought to they want some. Aaron Choose and Goldschmidt, amongst others, may rotate there. That will create extra alternatives for a youthful participant like Ben Rice or a backup like Trent Grisham, who’s roughly every week away from recreation motion following a hamstring damage.
