Had the Major League Baseball season started on time, the Yankees would have had to come out of the gates without three of their most important players. Injured outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton and left-hander James Paxton all would have missed some portion of the campaign, but if this season does get underway, they should be ready from the outset.
We already know about Judge, who’s progressing in his recovery from a rib stress fracture. His fellow slugger Stanton is also on the road back, manager Aaron Boone told Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com).
“Giancarlo’s doing well,” Boone said. “He’s still reporting in Tampa and going through his rehab. He’s doing really well. When we get ready to go, he should certainly be ready to be back and part of things.”
Stanton suffered a calf injury in the final week of February, rendering him doubtful for a normal Opening Day. It was especially unwelcome in light of Stanton’s abbreviated 2019, when biceps and knee issues limited him to a meager 18 regular-season games. That was Year 2 in a Yankees uniform for Stanton, whom they acquired from the Marlins on the heels of his 2017 NL MVP-winning season and who produced a .266/.343/.509 line with 38 home runs in 705 plate appearances during his only full season as a Yankee. He’s still signed for a guaranteed $244MM through 2027 (including a $10MM buyout for ’28). While the 30-year-old will have an opportunity to opt out of his contract after this season, it seems extremely unlikely he’ll take advantage of that chance even if he does enjoy a healthy and productive 2020.
There are better odds that Paxton has donned Yankees pinstripes for the last time. He’ll be a free agent next winter, after all, and no one knows whether a season will occur in the meantime. Paxton has consistently performed well for the Mariners and Yankees over the past few years, which would make him an appealing free agent, but injuries have been an all-too-common problem along the way. He underwent back surgery in early February and was set to be sidelined into May. But the 31-year-old’s recovery has gone “pretty smoothly,” according to Boone, who added he’s “really encouraged where James is.”
Paxton’s importance to New York’s staff only increased when righty Luis Severino underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in February. That procedure left Paxton as arguably the Yankees’ top complement to Gerrit Cole, with Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and Jordan Montgomery also in the mix. Paxton showed well in his first season as a Yankee, averaging better than 95 mph on his fastball and turning in 150 2/3 innings of 3.82 ERA/3.86 FIP ball with 11.11 K/9 and 3.29 BB/9.
Why oh why did Jeter “gift” Stanton to the Yankees!?
Us Marlins fans wanted our team to be paying for that contract for the rest of his career.
Fan(s) implies that there is more than one of you
Ha! got him! for real though, when Stanton’s on, his tslents get put to use in the Bronx instead of giving Miami a chance at a .500 sesason
Injuries so far have been a damper on very high expectations. We shall see
Ahhh…Yankees fans still bitter about 2003.
Time to move on. Jeter and Posada have.
Well just another dirty fish fan.
We won one after 2003. We’ll see if you can even win your division…
Uhh that was a Sox fan making the snarky and (quite humorous comment).
Lmao
Stanton is a fragile little sissy. What were they thinking? He is rich but not a leader, who needs him. He has all the power with a no trade clause. Horrible job Cashman.
What do you mean? Jeter “gifted” Stanton to the Yankees.
Stanton jokes and jives during team stretching, while Gardner and Gardner disciples focus with team training staff. No surprise when Stanton tears, sprains, and strains his body parts. Florida dodged a bullet on that contract.
Aren’t the Yankees so lucky how convient
Yes they are. MLB should’ve Stepped in and stopped Jeter from “gifting” Stanton to his beloved Yankees.
Gifted huh. Yeah, they took Jeter off the hook of a $300 mill contract. Now paying him 30 million per year for another 8 years or so.
Remember this gem?
“That is a certainty. If they hold him they get his peak years, they don’t offend their fans as much as moving Gordon, Prado, Ozuna, and others to get to their target payroll figures. Then they are off the hook for his declining years when he opts out which is also almost a certainty.
They are not going to take a bad trade just to dump Stanton’s salary.”
Good times!
Clearly Judge, Stanton and Paxton have been helped by drinking 5 ounces of Clorox before bedtime.
Sarcasm?
The Yanks are concerned about having to play with no fans in the stands. They are seeking advice on this from the Mets.
You thought of something you thought was clever to say and were just going to force it into an article even if it wasn’t even remotely related?
As a RS fan I love healthy opposing team members n I really feel badly for the horrible injuries sidelining Judge. I think Cashman is an amazing GM, just soooo good at his job, a miracle worker. I dislike Stanton. I think you need to wonder what he’s put in his body making him prone to all these injuries. He’s not worth the money, never was. Cashman did a Jeter a favor, nothing wrong with that. It seems to be about a Jeter, not Stanton.
The chances of him opting out are very low at this point. If he opts out the Marlins are off the hook in paying the Yankees 30 million. So like the Rangers and ARod I am sure Miami was like come on Giancarlo, test that open market.
He will never opt out.
Nobody wants Stanton to test the market more than the yankees do.
I just loved how Yanks’ fans thought they fleeced the Fish on this one. This was an amazing trade for everyone except the Yanks. LOL