After battling injuries for the better part of two years, Giancarlo Stanton feels he is on pace to be in the Yankees’ lineup on Opening Day. Stanton suffered a calf injury back during Spring Training that would have landed him on the injured list had the season opened as scheduled, though “the progress back has been good,” Stanton told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other reporters.
“I’m good again and getting everything I need to be ready….I’ve been [taking fly balls] in batting practice. It’s better to be in a controlled setting right now, especially while pitchers are trying to get their work in.”
That batting practice work has been Stanton’s only action on the grass during Summer Camp, as he hasn’t played in the field during intrasquad games. The Yankees intend to use Stanton only as a DH when the season begins, and then potentially get him back to outfield work depending on his health.
Biceps and knee injuries limited Stanton to just 18 games and 72 plate appearances in 2019, plus 18 more PA over five of New York’s postseason games. While Stanton had been rather notoriously injury-plagued earlier in his career, it seemed like had turned a corner after playing in 317 of a possible 324 games for the Marlins and Yankees in 2017-18. The peak, of course, was Stanton’s 59-homer performance that won him the 2017 NL MVP Award, though his first full season in the Bronx was also very productive, as Stanton slugged 38 homers and slashed .266/.343/.509 over a career-high 705 PA in 2018. Even last year, Stanton was dangerous when he was in the lineup, posting an .894 OPS over his 72 PA.
I’m sure Stanton wants to prove himself to everyone, especially the fans.
I’m rooting for him. 2018, his first NYY year, he and Andujar were the only guys to play 150 games…
People always sleep on Stanton. He can, and will be one of the most dangerous players in the game when he’s healthy. Unfortunately the Yankees do nothing to keep their players from getting injured
Just thoughts and prayers.
Yeah I’m sure they’re doing nothing to keep a guy making that much healthy.
I hear they don’t even allow players to wear seat belts.
@nymet …… all them injuries and they still do better than the Mets. The Mets lol….. everytine I say the word I laugh. Mets … all that wasted pitching, wasting David wrights career, a guy often injured(must not wear a seatbelt), what a waste of a franchise…… they should sell. Oh that’s right, they are!
With any luck your favorite guy in the world from across town might buy them. You know the guy from that team that’s better but they don’t wear seatbelts or something? Idk. In any event a guy who actually won one might buy them.
Stanton is 30 and the Yanks owe him around 250 million through his 38 year old season. He’s already had a very checkered injury history. It’s as if the Yanks took a page out if the Mets playbook!
I just looked it up on baseball reference they owe him 208 going forward. Don’t know where you had seen the 250 at. Perhaps another site factors pay differently. Still a lot for someone who doesn’t play a whole lot and strikes out a lot when he does.
My only question is why is it ok for everyone else to strikeout all the time but not for Stanton? Almost every hitter noW a days strikes out 150 plus times. Of course Stanton strikes out fifty more times than them, he’s always looking for the long all. But it is odd the double standard. The only guys I dont see strikeout 150 times a year is Votto and pujols. Votto has poor power and Albert hits into the double play like nobody’s business(he’s my boy I’m just saying tho).
Dont know where you got your 208 million.
Breakdown:
2020 prorated: 9.7 mil
2021 thur 2027: 208 mil
2028: 10 mil buyout
Total: 227.7 mil
After calling someone else out, you really should do your work.
Actually baseball reference dot com at the bottom it says 208 future salary obligations
I cited my source maybe it’s wrong.. I also didn’t call you out I seen it different and was respectful. I had more of an issue I. The Stanton department, but just goto baseball reference and look at salaries. If you gotta problem take it up with them lol. No need to be a jerk
Speaking of wasted careers, how about Judge and Sanchez?
I think if Stanton wasn’t on such a big, long term guaranteed contract he would opt out. Especially if he could land a deal close to what he is getting now. I just get the sense he is uncomfortable in NY.
At least ellsbury got a couple rings before leaving boston.
Not sure about Sanchez. He only plays 100-120 games and still hits 30 or more homers. I’m not sure that’s a waste.
He sure seems like a waste behind the plate though, not fond of all the passed balls. But they are still young and have time to turn it around.
On judge I have said multiple times on different threads I’d see if he can stay healthy and build value and then trade him. However, on Sanchez as long as his price isn’t too high and he’s on first few seasons of arb, I’d keep that bat in my lineup somehow.
Those guys aren’t nearly as much of a waste as writing several paragraphs to triggered Mets fans.
@melchez ….. so a guy who barely played more than 100 games (Sanchez) hit more home runs than anyone on the Mets besides Alonso. Your right man what a waste that Sanchez is. Lol
His jealousy is unbecoming.
Oh, I thought we were talking about rings… forgot, Yankees have other priorities.
Lol leave Hal’s yacht money outta this.
No, you’re paying Bonilla until he’s 106…
They aren’t. He was barley hurt with the marlins making the same amount of money. And when he goes to the Yankees all the sudden he gets hurt
Tanaka agrees with your dangerous part.
Man.
Yet *another* tired and thoroughly incorrect narrative.
Gary Sanchez PB 2019: 7.
So.
Hey there guy….. Happened in the playoffs if I remember correctly…. that guys not the best behind the dish. That’s all I was saying. I defended Sanchez from the haters. Read my previous comments I said I want that guy in my lineup everyday if he can play. That guy has a heck of a bat. Don’t get mad at me because Sanchez is less than stellar behind the dish.
That guy led the league in passed balls with 16 and 18 the two previous years. So I’m not sure why that’s a false narrative. And again I like the guy. But there are much better catchers than that guy.
First: was a response to @tetly.
Second: he was sacrificing PB for framing. It’s known that there is an inverse relationship between the two. And, ’19 *was* 7 PB’s.
So there’s that. The narrative needs to adjust.
Third: I live in Minneapolis these days. Super excited to see how Swanson helps Yo Soy Gary. He was highly regarded out here – with good reason. They were working on a new stance with the hopes of keeping the gains he made in regards to his former problem with balls getting by him but going back to being a very good pitch framer. Statistically this is very difficult to do. If you think about it that makes sense.
Fourth: there is really no doubt Sanchez is easily one of the top 5 catchers in MLB.
Fifth: ummm…see 1-4?
🙂
What? My comment was in-reference to Stanton lacing a liner at Tanaka last week. What did my comment have to do with Gary Sanchez?
My guy… thought you responded to me, apologies. However my guy, one season of 7 passed balls is nothing write home about. He had one season with less than 15 passed, Yadi never had double digits in the pb department. One year isn’t enough for me to re write that very true narrative that the guy has a problem with passed balls. IMHO He is not a top five catcher. His d war has never been negative but that doesn’t make you a top five catcher. He is a top bat, perhaps the top bat guy for a catcher. I like the guy I’m not bashing him in any way, I wanna see him do well. It’s all opinionated though, is what it is.
On a different note.. love your name. That is top five my guy lol
@tetly
Well, I blew that one, man!
My bad.
I’m really having a hard time figuring out this format. It seems a lot of comments/replies get arbitrarily placed.
So. Carry on & ignore that, please.
WAR says otherwise.
Also, Johnny Bench once had a season with 19 PB’s.
So.
Which playoff game was that?
I don’t remember that at all. I know that the Chicken Little’s of the world are always predicting it’ll happen. But I don’t believe it has.
Uh?
Game 1 against the Twins. Yanks won so it didn’t matter. . Look my guy, again I’m not trying to argue That Sanchez is bad, I like him. I’m just willing to admit his flaws. This all started because another poster said he was a waste and I defended the guy. I was defending Sanchez. I just don’t think he’s the best catcher that’s all. Gary is a great player I just don’t think his defense is all that great. His d war is always plus, never been in the the negative but he’s also never been worth a run back there either.
So let me re phrase it(you still won’t be happy). That guy is average behind the plate and a killer at the dish….. but he’s led the league two outta three season with passed balls. That’s the best I can do for you guy. You have worn me out Bucky and I will not quip back lol. You can have the last word.
Bro.
Wearing you down or having the last word was never a goal.
Rather, I was just talking baseball with one of the small number of posters I recognize. As an added bonus I generally think you’re knowledgeable & have decent takes.
I get that the PB’s have been an issue. But it seems he made real strides with that last year.
However, when weighing up his overall package defensively I think ( & fangraphs agrees) he’s an asset with the glove. I’m not saying he’s a gold glover. But he’s not a liability (at the risk of blasphemy a la Jorge Posada) back there, either.
Hey, you’re still my WAR time consigliere.
That’s cool. But I’ll give you a good Sanchez take:
No matter what he gives you defensively, hope he finds his stick again and dominates on that side of the ball. We can agree he has made strides on defence but he’s taken a step back offensively. If he’s back on track with the bat he’s one of the best overall catchers in baseball, no?
Merci.
Appreciate the pass.
D’accord.
He seems to get pull happy a lot. I think he’s definitely an All Star caliber player no matter what though. Which is not nothin.
I’m looking forward to the season he puts it all together and launches himself into the MVP conversation.
Maybe this year!
I’m really excited to see how Swanson impacts his game & overall career.
I was joking about wearing me out. Sorry if I sounded snarky on the last word thing. I know you ain’t saying that guys winning a gold glove i was just making sure you knew I defended the guy. As I said he’s positive in the d-war category, I just think he makes me nervous sometimes my guy. I like chatting ball with you man, your reasonable as well. Have a good night brother
@wild bill …… Sanchez taking a step back with the bat? I respectfully disagree my guy, he had 34 homers with a little over 100 games played. His batting average took a step back but his offensive war alone was around 3. Imho he is the best power threat for a catcher in all of baseball. He hits em at a higher clip than any catcher out there.
I know there’s more to offense than hitting bombs. That guy should be just fine though.
Well…I *can* be a bit dogged when it comes to defending Yankee players, man.
S’true.
And, I’m not insensitive to why he can be…ya know – a tad nerve wracking. I’m stoked about the impact Swanson could have on him. He’s a great coach!
Of course, you remain my WAR time consigliere.
You too, man.
Catch you on the flippity flop.
Sanchez’s bat was head and shoulders better in 2016-2017 than 2018 and 2019. That 2018 season was atrocious. If it weren’t for Yankee Stadium hitting his 2019 would have been ugly. His road stats were horrible. Not to mention he looked very overmatched at times in the 2019 playoffs.
He’s shown he can be a force offensively. Hitting bombs isn’t impressive anyone (sorry).
Wild bill- Well his war says otherwise….. if he sucked that bad his o war wouldn’t have been 2.9. So somebody does think it’s impressive or he would be another .230 hitter with a 0 war.
To your credit 2018 was bad. I won’t argue that. It’s just funny to hear you talk about guys that hit at Coors or New York. You act like nobody gets any credit because they hit there or something lol. On the other thread you said blackmons a regular player. Answer this then…. who is a better hitting catcher? Not last year…. the last 4 years?
He’ll play game one then be placed on the IL.
I would just keep him strictly as DH this season with Gardner, Hicks, Judge, Tauchman, Anduljar, and Frazier available in the OF. Keep everyone healthy and give more days off.
If that ridiculous overspend was your money, and not someone elses, would you say the same thing? Do you replace your car everytime you need new tires?
Stanton belongs at DH. One of Cashman biggest mistakes should of gotten Yelich instead.
Both of your two comments capture perfectly the total imbalance in the game perfectly.
Stanton: i agree. Probably a DH, at best. And in a normal NL, a defensive liability. Less than a full baseball player.
*BUT* my original point….’lets just set millions of dollars per year on fire’ and ‘what can we buy today’ approach, and views by big market fans. Newsflash for a few of you: Cashman doesnt 1)likely doesnt make this mistake in a small market team, or 2)wouldnt survive if he did. This “sunk cost” acceptance baffles me. There should be accountability for that poor acquisition. And there isnt.
Guys like Theo, Cashman…..no way they survive in 3 of the NL Central team, or Oakland, Tampa, et al. ….those are the guys who are the brilliant minds in my book.
As a fan of a small market team, Stanton is an asset in his current role, position and team.
mlbnyyfan Easy to say that now. Based on the situation at the time the trade was made it was a solid move. Stanton was the better player and almost everyone would’ve rather had Stanton on their team then Yelich.
Yankees go after the first light in a bottle. Everyone was saying Stanton was the best deal when it happened, then came injuries. What happens to Cole when he goes down with that big contract? He’s not going to be a premium ace for 7 straight years. There’s only a couple pitchers who have logically done that in this age.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Yankees sign Betts this coming offseason with Gardner off the books.
Rocket 32 I agree. We can all Monday morning big quarterback but at the time he was better.
I agree they need a healthy outfielder. But not sure if that long and expensive commitment to Betts is worth it. Now I know this won’t be popular, but trade judge, Frazier(if you can find a taker), and one of your 3rd baseman and get a decent outfielder. You probably won’t get an all star but someone solid would do just fine. But hey I heard there is a guy that plays 3rd at Colorado who plays almost all his games all the time. He won a bunch of gold gloves and would rake in Yankee stadium. I would bet if you could tie or come close to what he is making now he would be happy to leave there and play for a winner. Nolan….. goto New York my guy, step out of that west coast tv bubble that nobody out East watches because it’s on too late, and go get the recognition you deserve.
@Clepto – Let’s see if it can work the other way too. Chaim Bloom has great success in Tampa, but now he has deep pockets with the Red Sox. Can Bloom adapt his cost conscious methods to a big spending club? Given the state of the Sox pitching staff, he has a lot of work to do.
BTW – Theo built a great farm system in Boston, so I think he could succeed in the Oakland’s of the world as well.
Dorthoy: Theo did NOT build the farm system in Boston. He was hired in late 2002. He essentially used that depth to get pieces to won in 2004. As for Bloom, I suspect he will adapt well because he is more familiar with value for what you spend….not like a Stanton contract.
And Steve, for your benefit, a sunk cost is a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered. Stanton is a sunk cost, with obviously, no visible accountability for this bad investment. If you think sunk cost was misapplied, you are 100% wrong.
Agree. The Stanton acquisition never has made any sense. No flexibility, another big power, high K like Judge without the defensive skills. Without this move could easily have had Corbin, a player the Yankees need much more.
Research the phrase, ‘sunk cost.’
We talk so much about Stanton being injury proned that I think we exaggerate how injury prone he really is. The guy wasn’t even 30 before he totalled almost 5 thousand plate appearances.
If he and Judge were healthy for 162 I could not imagine what they could do!!! 120-130Hrs combined? Man if your a Yankee fan imagine…
Add in a fit Gary Sanchez and you’d get to that 130 HR number – his HR/PA percentage is marginally higher than both Stanton’s & Judge’s.
I think Judge is great great player and comes across as a decent bloke. He just doesn’t get enough rest at DH (a dozen games a year average) and because he’s – frankly – too brave – defensively.
From an A’s fans point of view I hope they’ll all be healthy & fun to watch as usual because we don’t have to play them in the regular season.
@a’sfan what is a bloke? A decent bloke? What is that my guy?
Like a mate.
So just a guy? Got it! So in Australia it’s mate and in Britain it’s bloke, in America he’s just a dude, got it!
I feel like Stanton is always reduced to “aiming to play” on any given day
A career .268 batter is hardly a threat in my opinion. Not much of an opinion but if I remember, he strikes out a lot. Oh and is often injured.
I forgot how important the batting avg. stat is in terms of valuing a player
I think it’s indicative of how much trouble a hitter gives a pitcher. 2-3 hits out of 10 at bats is average. Maybe I should have clarified “a threat to a pitcher.” This excludes defense obviously, which isn’t saying much for Stanton. It also excludes speed, which also isn’t saying much for Stanton. So what does he bring? Home Runs and Strikeouts. He’s a much bigger version of Mark Reynolds. I’m not discounting him as a player, just saying he isn’t much of a threat to pitchers.
I agree, but Mark Reynolds never hit 50 home runs lol.
Or .268 (prob did, just doesn’t seem like it).
He’s gotta play outfield when DJ gets back.. we need Andujars bat in lineup every day
While I agree, I don’t think it’s a must to have him hitting everyday. They did fine last year without him. What do you mean when dj gets back? I thought gleyber was playing short and dj was at second?
You think gleyber is a butcher in the field?
Even if Stanton were to stay healthy for a full season and hit 50 HRs, I still think he’d be grossly overpaid. He’s a lock for 200 K’s, and would need to spend at least 60% of his time as a DH to have a chance to stay healthy for a full season. I really think he and Judge need to stop lifting so much and focus more on core exercises and flexibility if they want to have long careers. Too many muscle pulls and lat strains already and that will only get worse with age if they don’t work on lengthening their muscles.
Why is it you always talk about their weight lifting routines? Do you know how many other players lift? All of em dude. Do you even lift bro?
This guy is going to miss every season left on his contract.
Title says ” STANTON AIMING TO PLAY ON OPENING DAY ” .. you left off which yr was he aiming for
Lol
Once again I can’t figure out who is a Yankee fan and who is a Yankee hater based on a lot of these comments.
I see this as great news. A healthy, productive duo of Judge and Stanton is the template for many pitchers nightmares, man. 1-9 the Yanks lineup is stacked. If you wanna argue with that… well, welcome new baseball fan! It’s a great game. Stick with it and enjoy.
Uh?
I’m starting to look forward to this season more & more. Baseball games are a great companion in the rock dove blind.
Go MLB season 2020!
🙂
Nah, I’m a Yankee fan and I hate the trade. But whatever. Throw out 100 million, 9 year contracts and leave no money for SP, which has been the big problem.
Uh?
With what Miami is paying his AAV is ~ 22 mil. That’s just not all that much in baseball today. Especially for good players.
And…”no money for SP”!?
With all due respect, did you miss the Gerrit Cole signing? In light of that I’m not buying your premise.
It would seem plenty of money is available.
I’ve seen this narrative before.
I’m just not purchasing it.
also that Stanton contract is probably insured
Opening day 2021?