As Giancarlo Stanton powered the Yankees through their deep postseason run last October, his bat was scorching – but his body was apparently in agony.
Both of the slugger’s elbows are dealing with tears that impact his daily life, let alone his ability to swing a bat. Despite the pain, Stanton never considered sitting out.
“Pain wise, for sure,” Stanton said this morning. “But the consideration of not going out there? Absolutely not.”
The 35-year-old designated hitter had hoped that an offseason of rest and treatment would help calm the inflammation.
However, after resuming batting practice a few weeks ago, the pain returned, forcing him to shut things down once again.
Now, as the Yankees ramp up preparations for the season, Stanton remains unable to participate in baseball activities – and there’s no clear timeline for when he’ll be back.
“It’s definitely not just soreness,” Stanton concerningly said.
His comments came a day after Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that Stanton would be limited in camp due to what the team described as a case of “tennis elbow.”
While the Yankees hope continued rest will keep him off the injured list to start the season, nothing is certain.
“A lot of forearm work, a lot of tissue work, a lot of exercises overall,” Stanton said. “Look, tennis elbow or whatever they call it is tears in your tendon.”
Surgery remains on the table as a possible solution if the condition worsens.
“If you blow it up, which overdoing would,” Stanton said. “It’s not what you want, but that would be the same if anything were to tear off.”
Stanton’s elbow problems started early last season in one arm and then developed in the other a couple of months later.
Even so, he played through the pain and bounced back from a rough 2023 campaign to post solid numbers, hitting .233 with 27 home runs, 72 RBI, and a .773 OPS in 114 games.
When October arrived, Stanton turned it up a notch.
He crushed seven home runs and drove in 16 runs over 14 playoff games, pushing his career postseason totals to 18 homers and 40 RBI in just 41 games.
“I’m just happy I was able to be out there,” he said.
Now, the question is whether he’ll be ready when it matters most in 2025.
Stanton is behind schedule for spring training, and Opening Day is very much in doubt.
“I’m definitely behind, but that’s just a matter of being ready for a full go today as opposed to in a little bit,” he said. “We have five, six weeks here. It’ll be a good ramp up from there.
Stanton remains hopeful that he can manage the injury as he did last season – but whether that will be enough remains to be seen.
“It’s a manageable thing, and that’s how last year and this year will go,” he said.
For now, the Yankees are in wait-and-see mode. When asked if he’ll be ready in a month, Stanton had no definitive answer.
“We’ll see how that goes,” he said.
The bottom line is without Stanton’s heroics last October, the Yankees wouldn’t have sniffed the World Series.
Having said that, injuries just continue to be a major part of Stanton’s frustrating career.
If you read between the lines, it certainly feels like Boone and the entire organization would be shocked if Stanton’s in the Opening Day lineup.
What are your thoughts on Stanton being injured yet again? … How much time do you think he will end up missing???
