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Giancarlo Stanton

Yankees Designate Pablo Reyes For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | June 16, 2025 at 2:40pm CDT

The Yankees announced that infielder/outfielder Pablo Reyes has been designated for assignment. That opens an active roster spot for designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list, a move that was reported earlier today. The club’s 40-man roster count stays at 39.

Reyes, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Yanks in the offseason and made the Opening Day roster. He has since served in a reserve role, often as a late-game replacement. He has appeared in 25 games with 34 plate appearances, hitting just .194/.242/.226 in those.

That’s not a great performance but it’s a small sample and it’s tough to maintain quality results with such sporadic action. Him getting the DFA treatment today is more about a fairly crowded Yankee roster. Stanton taking a place in the lineup means that one of Ben Rice or Paul Goldschmidt will be on the bench most days. One of the club’s four outfielders will take up a spot as well. Backup catcher J.C. Escarra will also be on the pine most days.

That left Reyes and fellow infielder Oswald Peraza for the bench spot. Both are out of options and performing poorly at the plate this year but Peraza is several years younger and not too far removed from being a top 100 prospect, so it makes sense to hang onto him in the hopes that there’s still some future value to be extracted there.

Add it all up and it equals Reyes heading into DFA limbo. That can last as long as a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, so the club could take up to five days to explore trades. Reyes passed through waivers in September and then settled for a minor league deal in the offseason. He hasn’t done much to raise his stock since then, so it’s possible he clears waivers yet again. If he does so, he’ll have the right to elect free agency as a player with a previous career outright.

He now has 606 career plate appearances in the majors with a .245/.305/.342 line and 75 wRC+. He’s capable of bouncing all around the diamond, with experience at every position except catcher. That includes five innings of mop-up work on the mound.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

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New York Yankees Transactions Giancarlo Stanton Pablo Reyes

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Yankees To Reinstate Giancarlo Stanton

By Darragh McDonald | June 16, 2025 at 1:00pm CDT

Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton will be back in the lineup tonight, reports Andy Martino of SNY. Stanton is on the 60-day injured list, meaning he will need to retake a spot on the 40-man roster to be activated. The Yankees already have a vacancy there, so they will only need to make a corresponding active roster move in order to make this official.

Stanton, 35, will be making his season debut once tonight’s game begins. Way back in February, he reported to camp with soreness in both elbows and he has spent the past few months trying to get healthy. In March, he told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com that he had torn tendons in both elbows. He landed on the 10-day IL to start the season and the club listed his injury as elbow epicondylitis, more commonly known as “tennis elbow”. He was transferred to the 60-day IL at the start of May.

He has finally been able to ramp up in the past month or so, starting with some work with the high-velocity pitching machine and some live batting practice. He officially began a rehab assignment last week, going 3-11 plus a walk in three Double-A contests.

It seems fair to wonder what sort of production Stanton can provide at this point in his career. Though he has a lengthy track record of crushing the ball with ferocity, he’s now 35 years old and injuries have become more frequent. Though he’s largely been limited to the designated hitter slot, he still hasn’t appeared in 140 games in a season since 2018. He hasn’t hit the 115-game mark since 2021. Over the 2022-2024 seasons, he struck out in 30.5% of his plate appearances while slashing .212/.291/.454 for a 106 wRC+.

He’s now coming off yet another lengthy injury absence and it’s no guarantee that his bat will be an upgrade over what the Yankees have already had in there. Ben Rice has been getting most of the DH time this year and has a .227/.311/.460 line and 117 wRC+ so far this year. Knocking him out of that spot will have domino effects.

Moving Rice to first base isn’t really an option because Paul Goldschmidt is there and is hitting .311/.371/.455 for a 133 wRC+. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic points out that a Rice/Goldschmidt platoon would make on-paper sense but that manager Aaron Boone has ruled out such a tidy arrangement, perhaps not surprising with Goldschmidt a respected veteran making $12.5MM.

The Yanks are open to Rice getting some time behind the plate but Austin Wells is hitting .224/.288/.464 for a 107 wRC+ with solid defensive grades. He has also helped the pitching staff put up good numbers all year along despite the injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and others. Even backup catcher J.C. Escarra has a .230/.333/.361 line and 100 wRC+ with good defense to boot.

Stanton does have some outfield work in his past but didn’t play there at all last year. Given his elbow injuries, he’s probably not going to be sent out to the grass. Even if the Yanks were willing to do that, they have been getting strong results from their outfield group of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Jasson Domínguez.

It’s technically a good problem to have but it will be tricky for Boone to get the right balance of finding playing time for everyone so they all can stay crisp while simultaneously trying to optimize the lineup for success on a given day, though the logjam probably won’t last long since injuries are fairly inevitable.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

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New York Yankees Transactions Giancarlo Stanton

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Yankees Notes: Weaver, Stanton, Rice, Stroman, Volpe

By Mark Polishuk | June 7, 2025 at 1:21pm CDT

Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided the media (including the New York Post’s Greg Joyce and MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) with injury updates on several players, including closer Luke Weaver.  A left hamstring strain sent Weaver to the 15-day injured list earlier this week and reports suggested Weaver would miss between 4-6 weeks, though the Yankees themselves didn’t announce a timeline.  While it is still very early in the recovery process, Weaver looks to be showing some progress, as he received a PRP injection in his hamstring and has resumed throwing in each of the last two days.

“[We] like the early stages of where he’s at and how he’s expressing to me how he feels,” Boone said of Weaver’s status.  “He’s pretty encouraged and optimistic considering the injury and the timeline with it. So hopefully he does better than that.”

While we won’t know more until (or if) the Yankees release a more concrete timeline for Weaver, it would obviously be great news for New York if the right-hander can return sooner rather than later.  Weaver has been excellent basically ever since the Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Mariners late in the 2023 season, and the reliever has become not just a high-leverage arm but a ninth-inning answer in each of the last two years.  The Yankees installed Weaver at closer when Clay Holmes ran into some struggles in 2024, and Weaver received more save situations this year in the wake of Devin Williams’ rough start.

Turning to the lineup, Giancarlo Stanton might finally be closing in on his first on-field action of 2025, as Boone suggested that “a rehab [assignment]’s in play next week.”  Stanton has been recovering from torn tendons in both elbows, and since these injuries cost him all of Spring Training, it has been a slow and gradual build as the slugger has gotten back into game shape.  His recent work at the Yankees’ spring complex in Tampa has included running drills and multiple live batting-practice sessions.

While Stanton will certainly require multiple rehab games to get him fully ramped up for a return to the majors, the exact length of his rehab stint is to be determined.  Since Stanton will be returning to a DH-only role, Boone previously said that Stanton may have something less than a standard rehab assignment, as Stanton will be focusing just on hitting rather than fielding work.  If the veteran feels his batting eye and timing are set, it could conceivably be a relatively short time in the minors for Stanton, with his health obviously also a factor.

Stanton is also expected to return to the majors in something less than a full-time capacity as the Yankees’ DH, both in order to ease him back into action and to allow Ben Rice to keep getting some time in the lineup.  Rice has cooled off significantly after a scorching start to the season, but he is still hitting .245/.330/.511 with 12 home runs over 209 plate appearances.  Most of that playing time has come as a designated hitter, but Rice has also made 10 appearances at first base and four appearances at catcher.

This will remain Rice’s positional usage once Stanton gets back, as SNY’s Andy Martino writes that the Yankees aren’t planning to use Rice as a third baseman.  Since Rice recently did some pregame fielding work at the hot corner, some speculation arose that the club might try to include Rice in its third base mix, but Martino poured cold water on that possibility.  The left-handed hitting Rice may find himself in something of a platoon with the right-handed hitting Stanton at DH, with Rice also occasionally spelling Paul Goldschmidt at first base and getting the odd game at catcher when Austin Wells or J.C. Escarra need a rest day.

Besides Stanton, Marcus Stroman may also be nearing a rehab assignment, though Boone said any decisions about Stroman’s next steps may wait until after the club sees how he fully recovers from his latest throwing session.  Stroman threw around 40 pitches over two innings of a live batting practice on Thursday, and told Boone in the immediate aftermath that his left knee was feeling good.

Inflammation in that left knee has kept Stroman from pitching in a big league game since April 11, though New York hasn’t yet moved Stroman from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL.  It has been almost a month since Stroman’s throwing progression was shut down after more knee soreness surfaced after another live BP, so it is understandable why the Yankees are continuing to be cautious with the right-hander’s timeline after this most recent batting practice session.

It is also worth noting that Boone said Stroman will be built up as a starting pitcher, which means Stroman will be returning to his preferred role.  Early-season injuries elsewhere in New York’s rotation ensured Stroman would indeed be beginning the year as a starter once more, before his own knee issue created another hole in the starting five.  Despite the absences of Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Stroman, the Yankees’ starters have remained one of the better rotations in the league, as Will Warren and especially swingman Ryan Yarbrough have been quite capable fill-ins.

Amidst all of these injuries, the Yankees seem to have dodged another bullet yesterday when scans came back negative on Anthony Volpe’s left elbow.  The shortstop was hit in the elbow by a Walker Buehler changeup in the second inning of New York’s 9-6 win over Boston, and Volpe stayed in the game until the top of the fourth.  Volpe is day-to-day for now and may be able to avoid an IL stint if the swelling and discomfort lessens in short order.

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New York Yankees Notes Anthony Volpe Ben Rice Giancarlo Stanton Luke Weaver Marcus Stroman

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Yankees Notes: Canning, Cousins, Stanton

By Mark Polishuk | May 17, 2025 at 2:29pm CDT

With Griffin Canning starting for the Mets in today’s Subway Series matchup, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed to reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) that his own club met with Canning and explored a possible signing this past offseason.  Instead, Canning wound up in another corner of the Big Apple, signing with the Mets for $4.25MM in guaranteed money on a one-year contract.

The deal was the culmination of a busy winter for Canning, who was dealt from the Angels to the Braves as part of the Jorge Soler that was essentially a salary dump on Atlanta’s part.  Indeed, Canning found himself non-tendered just a few weeks after the trade was completed, and he caught on with the Mets a month later.  That deal is now looking like one of the better under-the-radar contracts of the offseason, as Canning has blossomed to a 2.36 ERA over 42 innings with the Amazins.

Signing Canning obviously wouldn’t have prevented the Yankees from their big-ticket pitching acquisition of Max Fried, but it could be that if Canning was in the fold, minor league signings Carlos Carrasco or Jake Woodford might not have wound up in the pinstripes, or the Yankees might not have claimed Allan Winans on waivers.  Who knows if Canning would’ve enjoyed the same early success with the Yankees that he has with the Mets, but having an extra starter on hand would’ve been helpful for a Bronx Bombers rotation mix that has been thinned by injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, Marcus Stroman, and JT Brubaker.

Boone’s pregame media session (with Hoch, the New York Post’s Greg Joyce, and other reporters) also included some injury updates.  Jake Cousins has yet to pitch in 2025 due to a right elbow flexor strain sustained during the offseason, and the reliever’s recovery process has been further delayed by a pec injury that developed during a recent live bullpen session.  Boone doesn’t think the pec issue is “anything serious,” but it was enough for the Yankees to shut Cousins down for 4-5 days to monitor the situation.

Cousins is on the 60-day injured list and was already expected to be out well beyond his first eligible activation date in late May.  Joyce writes that Cousins was aiming to return to New York’s bullpen by the middle of June, “but this shutdown will almost certainly delay that timeline.”

The first of Cousins’ live bullpens came facing Giancarlo Stanton, as part of Stanton’s own rehab from torn tendons in both of his elbows.  Boone said that Stanton’s workload has included running on the field and facing a high-velocity pitching machine, in addition to some live at-bats against the likes of Cousins.

Stanton is also on the 60-day IL and can be activated in a little over a week’s time, though it isn’t clear exactly how close the slugger is to even a minor league rehab assignment, let alone returning to the majors.  Boone did note that Stanton’s rehab process may not follow a standard path, as since Stanton is a DH-only player, he won’t have to take any reps in the field.

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New York Yankees Notes Giancarlo Stanton Griffin Canning Jake Cousins

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Yankees Claim Bryan De La Cruz

By Darragh McDonald | May 1, 2025 at 2:10pm CDT

The Yankees have claimed outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from the Braves, according to announcements from both clubs. The Yanks optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and transferred Giancarlo Stanton to the 60-day injured list as the corresponding 40-man move.

There was no previous indication that Atlanta had designated De La Cruz for assignment, but it appears they quietly put him on waivers in recent days in an attempt to get him off the 40-man. It didn’t work, with the Yanks scooping him up. Atlanta’s 40-man roster count drops from 39 to 38.

Atlanta signed BDLC to their roster in the offseason and he started the season in the majors with the Atlanta outfield in flux this year. Ronald Acuña Jr. is still working back from last year’s ACL tear. Jurickson Profar tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug early in the season and received an 80-game suspension. The club signed Alex Verdugo to help out but that deal got done so late that Verdugo had to start the season on optional assignment as a sort of delayed spring training.

De La Cruz got 50 plate appearances with Atlanta but was punched out in 36% of them as he produced a dismal .191/.240/.213 line. He was optioned down to Triple-A Gwinnett when Verdugo was ready to join the big league club. The team later signed Eddie Rosario and optioned Jarred Kelenic. With Acuña slated to be back in the next month or so and Kelenic available in Triple-A, De La Cruz didn’t have great odds of getting back to the majors, which is surely what prompted the club to push him onto the waiver wire.

For the Yankees, they effectively had an open roster spot. Stanton has been on the 10-day injured list all year due to problems in both elbows. He has been trying to get healthy but still isn’t ready for game action. Even once cleared to get into a lineup somewhere, he will need a rehab assignment of a few weeks to get into game shape. His 60-day count is retroactive to his initial IL placement, so he will be eligible to be reinstated later this month if he’s able to get healthy by then.

For now, they have used Stanton’s roster spot to add some extra outfield depth. Their big league outfield group is currently strong, consisting of Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger and Jasson Domínguez. But De La Cruz has options and there’s little harm in stashing him in Triple-A to see how things go.

As mentioned, his 2025 is out to a brutal start, but he’s been better in the past. He stepped to the plate 574 times for the Marlins over 2021 and 2022 with a combined .269/.318/.430 line and 103 wRC+ over those seasons. However, a .333 batting average on balls in play helped him out a lot there and his production has tailed off since. Since the start of 2023, he has a .243/.285/.390 line and 81 wRC+. Strikeouts have become a growing problem, with a 28% rate of punchouts since the start of 2024.

Even as he was struggling last year, he was still able to be useful in a platoon setting. A right-handed hitter, he put up a .285/.309/.425 line and 99 wRC+ versus lefties, so perhaps that is part of the appeal. Grisham and Bellinger are both lefties, though Grisham has reverse splits in his career. Domínguez is a switch-hitter but has been vulnerable to southpaws so far. He has a .277/.353/.529 line against righties but just .100/.239/.150 against lefties.

For now, De La Cruz can get regular playing time with the RailRiders and try to get in a good groove. If he succeeds or if the Yankees suffer an injury, he could get find himself getting another crack at the majors.

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

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Atlanta Braves New York Yankees Transactions Bryan De La Cruz Giancarlo Stanton

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Yankees Place Eight Players On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | March 26, 2025 at 10:23pm CDT

The Yankees announced eight injured list placements on Wednesday afternoon. Clarke Schmidt (rotator cuff tendinitis), JT Brubaker (rib fractures), Clayton Beeter (shoulder impingement), Ian Hamilton (virus), Scott Effross (hamstring strain) and Jonathan Loáisiga (rehab from elbow surgery) all landed on the 15-day injured list. As position players, Giancarlo Stanton (elbow epicondylitis) and DJ LeMahieu (calf strain) went on the 10-day IL. All placements were retroactive to March 24, the earliest date for 10-day or 15-day stints.

None of the moves come as a surprise. Loáisiga has been rehabbing last April’s UCL procedure and will be out at least into May. Stanton didn’t participate in Spring Training and faces an uncertain recovery timeline because of injuries to both elbows. Beeter has been throwing side sessions but didn’t see any game action in camp due to the shoulder issue. LeMahieu, Schmidt, Brubaker and Effross all suffered injuries in Spring Training. Hamilton isn’t hurt but didn’t make his Spring Training debut until last Thursday after being delayed by illness. He needs a couple weeks to continue his build-up.

The only surprise is that the Yanks did not place Jake Cousins on the 15-day IL this afternoon. He was delayed by a forearm strain and did not pitch in games this spring. Cousins has been throwing side sessions but it seems unlikely that the team would throw him directly into regular season action without any Spring Training appearances. It’s possible they’ll make another move when they officially set their Opening Day roster tomorrow.

One player who’ll certainly be on that roster: catcher J.C. Escarra. The Yankees announced over the weekend that the 29-year-old (30 next month) made the team, providing social media video of manager Aaron Boone informing him of that decision. Escarra secures the backup job behind Austin Wells and will make his major league debut once he gets into a game. The Yankees placed him on their 40-man roster at the beginning of the offseason so he wouldn’t reach minor league free agency.

A left-handed hitter, Escarra combined for a .261/.355/.434 line with nearly as many walks as strikeouts across 493 minor league plate appearances last season. The Yankees cleared a path for him to grab the backup job by trading Jose Trevino and Carlos Narváez over the winter. The spot was Escarra’s to lose entering camp, and he solidified it by hitting .302 with three homers in 19 games. Escarra was playing in the independent ranks and in Mexico as recently as 2023. Two years later, he’s breaking camp with an MLB team.

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New York Yankees Clarke Schmidt Clayton Beeter DJ LeMahieu Giancarlo Stanton Ian Hamilton J.C. Escarra J.T. Brubaker Jonathan Loaisiga Scott Effross

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Poll: The Yankees’ Priorities

By Nick Deeds | March 11, 2025 at 8:39pm CDT

It’s been a tough spring for the Yankees on the injury front. The club has faced a number of noteworthy injuries, with the latest blow being the loss of veteran ace Gerrit Cole to Tommy John surgery. He’ll miss the entire 2025 season, while rotation-mate Luis Gil is set to miss a couple of months after suffering a lat strain. The lineup has been impacted as well, with slugger Giancarlo Stanton poised to miss significant time due to elbow issues while likely starting third baseman DJ LeMahieu has been sidelined by a calf strain.

Each of those injuries have prompted varying levels of speculations that the club could look to bring in some help, but the Yankees are seemingly facing fairly strict budget limits. RosterResource projects them for a $285MM payroll. The Yanks have shown little interest in adding payroll, and their projected $305MM competitive balance tax number is already above the $301MM top tax threshold. It would be fairly difficult to make lineup and rotation additions with limited budget space and a limited supply available to them. General manager Brian Cashman downplayed the possibility of the Yankees making a notable addition, citing the current tax situation as an obstacle.

Perhaps the most obvious choice for an upgrade would be the starting rotation. The Yankees are already down at least one starter for the entire 2025 season, and while Marcus Stroman can step into the rotation as a #5 starter relatively seamlessly, the depth beyond him gets shakier. Non-roster invitee Carlos Carrasco has an ugly 6.18 ERA over his past two seasons, while prospect Will Warren struggled to a 10.32 ERA in his big league debut last year with an ERA near 6.00 at Triple-A. A steadier depth arm like Lance Lynn or Kyle Gibson would make plenty of sense for a rotation that has multiple pitchers with notable injury histories.

The Yankees do have plenty of high-end talent in the rotation that could help to make up for the lack of depth. Max Fried is a legitimate No. 1 starter in his own right. Carlos Rodon is just two seasons removed from earning Cy Young votes. Clarke Schmidt posted a sterling 2.85 ERA in 16 starts last year. With the reigning AL Rookie of the Year set to join the rotation at some point this year, perhaps the Yankees’ needs are more acute in the lineup.

The idea of filling Stanton’s spot in the lineup is made more intriguing by the presence of a comparable veteran lingering in free agenct. J.D. Martinez remains on the market, and the two sluggers have produced nearly identical offensive value over the past five years: Stanton has slashed .231/.313/.473 with a 117 wRC+, while Martinez has hit .263/.330/.477 with a wRC+ of 118. Even with Martinez coming off a relative down season and a particularly tough second half with the Mets last year, it’s easy to see why having Martinez fill in for Stanton could be very appealing. The Yankees have had at least “some contact” with Martinez since Stanton was sidelined.

Then again, it’s fair to argue that Stanton is the easiest of the injured Yankees to replace in-house. Ben Rice has impressed during Spring Training and was already in the conversation for the backup catcher job. He could be tabbed as a potential DH option against right-handed hitters. Another solution would be giving regulars more rest by playing them at DH on occasion. If the club places Trent Grisham in center field for a day rather than Cody Bellinger, Stanton’s injury could let them give Bellinger a partial rest day at DH or have him back up any of Jasson Dominguez, Aaron Judge, or even Paul Goldschmidt so they could get a rest day of their own.

Third base has also been a question throughout camp. LeMahieu seems like he’ll have a shorter absence than Stanton, but even coming off a down season, his injury thins out the infield options. A mix of LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza, and Oswaldo Cabrera always looked fairly uninspiring. An MLBTR poll late last month suggested that a plurality of respondents believed the club’s primary third baseman would be someone not yet in the organization.

The third base market — and second base market, if Jazz Chisholm Jr. plays third instead — has largely been picked over, however. The Yankees were connected to infield options like Jose Iglesias and Jorge Polanco at points throughout the offseason and into Spring Training, but both veterans have since landed elsewhere. Nolan Arenado is known to be willing to waive his no-trade clause to join the Yankees, but it’s unlikely New York would be willing to take on his contract. Veteran Whit Merrifield remains available in free agency but isn’t a clear upgrade coming off a downturn in production at the plate. Perhaps upcoming opt-out opportunities for non-roster veterans and players made available on waivers due to roster crunches when Opening Day draws near will present a more viable solution.

How do MLBTR readers think the Yankees should address their injury-created holes? Will the club sign/acquire a starter to deepen its oft-injured rotation mix? Or could the Yankees instead turn to the lineup and either replace Stanton at DH or look for an upgrade to the infield? Have your say in the poll below:

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MLBTR Originals MLBTR Polls New York Yankees DJ LeMahieu Gerrit Cole Giancarlo Stanton Luis Gil

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Giancarlo Stanton Has “Severe” Injuries In Both Elbows

By Leo Morgenstern | March 8, 2025 at 1:11pm CDT

Giancarlo Stanton offered an update this morning about the elbow injuries that have kept him from playing this spring. He told reporters, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, that the problem is “considered severe” in each of his elbows. The Yankees DH remains uncertain as to when he will be able to return to baseball activities of any kind. While he does not yet know if double elbow surgery will be necessary, he said that if he goes under the knife, the surgeries will rule him out for the 2025 season. Thankfully, GM Brian Cashman recently described surgery as a “last resort” for Stanton (per Hoch).

The 35-year-old has received two rounds of PRP injections in both elbows, and he will go for a third round next week. While Stanton is currently with the rest of his Yankees teammates at camp, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Hoch) that the DH is unlikely to see any game action in spring training. Last weekend, the Yankees announced that Stanton would open the season on the IL. They did not provide a timetable for his return. Today’s update doesn’t necessarily push that already uncertain timeline back any further, but Stanton’s use of the word “severe” certainly isn’t promising, nor is the possibility that he could miss the entire 2025 campaign.

It is hard to know what to think about the fact that Stanton attributed his elbow problems to “bat adjustments” he made in 2024. On the one hand, it’s encouraging that he was able to identify the problem; hopefully, that means he knows how to avoid reaggravating the issue once he starts to swing a bat again. On the other hand, Stanton’s powerful swing is his signature skill. Even in his mid-thirties, he had the fastest swing speed in MLB last season, according to Statcast. It’s worth wondering if he can make the necessary bat adjustments to keep his elbows safe without weakening his swing.

While it has been years since Stanton was a true superstar, he was still a valuable contributor to New York’s pennant-winning squad in 2024. He crushed 27 home runs with 72 RBI and a 116 wRC+. His bat was particularly potent in the playoffs; he hit seven homers in 14 games, with a team-leading 16 RBI. The Yankees made some solid additions to the top half of their order this winter, trading for Cody Bellinger and signing free agent Paul Goldschmidt. Still, their offense does not project to be quite as potent without Juan Soto to bat in front of Aaron Judge. Losing Stanton for any period of time will only further weaken the lineup.

Boone said earlier this week that he likes the in-house candidates the team has to replace Stanton, “especially against right-handed pitching” (per Hoch). That could mean using Judge at DH more often and starting the lefty-batting Trent Grisham in the outfield. While Grisham’s bat is a far cry from Stanton’s, such an arrangement would improve the outfield defense and could help Judge stay healthy throughout the season. Another lefty-batting option to get some reps at DH is Ben Rice. Although he struggled in his rookie season (73 wRC+ in 178 PA), Rice mashed throughout the minors and could offer some power in Stanton’s stead. J.C. Escarra is another left-handed hitter on the 40-man roster. He’s nearing 30 and has yet to make his MLB debut, but he hit well last season in his first year in the Yankees organization. Dominic Smith, a veteran non-roster invitee in camp this spring, is another left-handed bat to keep in mind.

Meanwhile, the most likely option to join the mix against left-handed pitching, whether in the outfield or at DH, could be Everson Pereira. Like Rice, Pereira struggled in his brief debut last season but has always hit well – especially in the power department – in the minor leagues. In seven games this spring, Pereira is batting .375 with a 1.224 OPS. He has been limited to DH duty in spring training as he rehabs from UCL surgery, but he could eventually take some reps for Judge in the outfield as well.

Finally, one has to wonder if Cashman is thinking about making an offer to free agent J.D. Martinez. While the Yankees could not feasibly roster both Stanton and Martinez, season-ending surgery for the former could open the door for the latter. To that end, New York has reportedly had “some contact with” Martinez. In a recent MLBTR poll, a plurality of respondents voted the Yankees as the most likely landing spot for the 37-year-old DH.

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New York Yankees Giancarlo Stanton

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Yankees Notes: LeMahieu, Outfield, Judge

By Nick Deeds | March 1, 2025 at 10:49pm CDT

It’s been a tough few days on the injury front for Yankees fans. After the club announced yesterday that right-hander Luis Gil is set to undergo an MRI due to shoulder troubles and not long after it was made public that slugger Giancarlo Stanton will begin the season on the injured list due to soreness in both elbows, another potentially key player for the club went down with a potential injury: veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu.

As noted by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, manager Aaron Boone told reporters this afternoon that LeMahieu “tweaked” a calf muscle during his second at-bat during today’s game, which was LeMahieu’s spring debut. LeMahieu is receiving treatment for the issue, but Boone called the situation “at least a little concerning” given the veteran’s recent injury history. LeMahieu was limited to just 67 games due to a number of injuries last year, including a hip impingement that ultimately ended his season.

It’s a particularly troubling development seeing as LeMahieu was a likely candidate to be the club’s starting third baseman on Opening Day. A recent MLBTR Poll suggested that 27.5% of respondents expected LeMahieu to receive the lion’s share of playing time at third base this year. That was enough to beat out both Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza as the top internal candidate for the job, though a 34% plurality of respondents suggested that the Yankees’ primary solution at the hot corner was likely to be someone not yet in the organization.

Perhaps today’s injury will make that more likely if LeMahieu winds up unable to get back in time for the beginning of the season later this month, though the pickings remain quite slim on the market with part-time veteran Jose Iglesias standing out as the best infield option still available. If the Yankees can’t find an external solution for the hot corner before Opening Day, it seems likely that Cabrera and Peraza will handle the position in a timeshare until LeMahieu is ready to return, though it’s possible a player such as Jorbit Vivas or Pablo Reyes could make a push for the job as well.

Aside from the news regarding LeMahieu, Hoch suggests that the injury to Stanton could lead to a realigned outfield with Trent Grisham joining the lineup in center field, with Cody Bellinger sliding from center to right field and Aaron Judge moving to DH. Such an arrangement would improve the club’s defense overall by adding a plus glove in center field while also avoiding injury risks for Judge, the reigning AL MVP who stands out as the club’s most important player entering the year. Hoch adds that Boone noted that giving Judge occasional partial days off at DH could be valuable early in the season, though Boone was quick to emphasize that he also values Judge’s ability to contribute on defense in right field. On days where Grisham isn’t joining the lineup in center field and pushing a regular to DH, the club’s internal options to fill in for Stanton include youngster Ben Rice and non-roster invitee Dominic Smith.

Sticking with Judge, the MVP spoke to reporters (including Hoch) this afternoon about his desire to get more at-bats under his belt during Spring Training this year. Today was Judge’s first appearance in a Spring Training game of the year, and notably he received just 24 official at-bats in the spring last season. Judge suggested that additional reps before the season begins could help him to prevent a slow start like the one he had last year, where he batted just .197/.331/.393 in his first 149 trips to the plate before turning his season around in early May and hitting a sensational .357/.492/.787 the rest of the way. Obviously, that type of otherworldly production over the majority of the season would be more than enough to make up for another early-season slump, but Judge’s goal of getting something closer to 40 or 50 plate appearances in this spring is an understandable one given his struggles early last year.

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New York Yankees Notes Aaron Judge Cody Bellinger DJ LeMahieu Giancarlo Stanton Trent Grisham

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Giancarlo Stanton To Begin Season On Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | March 1, 2025 at 2:31pm CDT

The Yankees officially announced that Giancarlo Stanton won’t be available for the start of the season, as the slugger will be placed on the injured list due to his recurring elbow issues.  Stanton received PRP injections in both elbows, and is expected to return to the team’s spring camp later this week after dealing with an unspecified personal matter in New York.

The announcement doesn’t come as any surprise, as Stanton hasn’t swung a bat in five or six weeks due to continued soreness in his elbows.  Two weeks ago, Stanton and manager Aaron Boone described the problem as similar to tennis elbow, with Stanton noting that some tendon damage had taken place.  While surgery wasn’t being considered, surgery would naturally become an option (or inevitable) in the event of an actual tendon tear, which is why Stanton said he and the team were being cautious in their approach to the injuries.

No timetable was announced for Stanton’s recovery, but probably the end of April would represent a best-case scenario for the five-time All-Star to make his 2025 debut.  Some time will be needed to evaluate Stanton’s elbows in the aftermath of the PRP treatment, and if all is well, he’d then need to start his usual ramp-up proceedings after missing so much of both Spring Training and even his pre-camp offseason work.  Given Stanton’s long history of leg-related injuries, he’ll need some prep time beyond just hitting work, even if he is going to be a DH-only player this season.

Injuries have long hampered Stanton’s career, and kept from fully delivering on the whopping 13-year, $325MM contract he signed with the Marlins back in November 2014.  There is still $96MM owed to Stanton in the final three guaranteed years of that deal, counting the $10MM, though the Yankees are only responsible for covering $66MM of that figure as per the terms of the trade that brought Stanton from Miami to New York in December 2017.

Stanton has been pretty productive (.241/.323/.483 with 162 home runs in 2776 plate appearances) during his time in the pinstripes, and has still looked like one of baseball’s most dangerous hitters from time to time.  However, those red-hot streaks have been countered by both extended slumps, and several times when Stanton has simply been unable to play due to injury.

The 2024 season saw Stanton miss about five weeks due to a hamstring strain, though he bounced back reasonably well from a down year in 2023.  Stanton hit .233/.298/.475 with 27 home runs in 459 PA last season, which translated to a 116 wRC+ even if low average and on-base numbers continue to be a concern.  The slugger then elevated his game in October, hitting .273/.339/.709 with seven homers over 62 PA during New York’s playoff run, and he captured ALCS MVP honors for his huge performance in the Yankees’ five-game elimination of the Guardians.

Following up that great postseason with yet another significant injury is undoubtedly a huge frustration for Stanton as he enters his 16th Major League campaign (and his age-35 season).  The fact that these elbow problems are an entirely new injury for Stanton could be viewed in one of two ways — either as a positive that he isn’t again dealing with leg problems, or as a negative that Stanton is now dealing with elbow issues on top of the ever-present concern over his lower body.

With Stanton out, the Yankees might just opt to fill the designated hitter spot with a rotation of players, in order to spread around at-bats and partial rest days for other veterans like Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt, or DJ LeMahieu.  In terms of overall roster construction, Ben Rice now looks to have a better chance of making the Opening Day roster, and picking up some DH at-bats himself.

An external addition also can’t be ruled out, if Stanton is facing an extended amount of time on the IL.  Reports have already indicated the Yankees have been in touch with J.D. Martinez, perhaps laying some groundwork for a future contract in case Stanton isn’t making much progress in a couple of weeks’ time.  Adding a prominent veteran like Martinez, however, would also threaten to push the Yankees’ even further over the top luxury tax tire — RosterResource projects New York’s tax number at roughly $305.1MM, and beyond the upper penalty threshold of $301MM.

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New York Yankees Newsstand Giancarlo Stanton

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