The Yankees announced that slugger Giancarlo Stanton has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left quad strain. Stanton’s placement is retroactive to May 14. Right-hander Albert Abreu has been called up to take Stanton’s spot on the active roster.
The specter of Stanton hitting the IL is an ominous one for the Yankees and their fans, given how the 31-year-old has so often been sidelined by injuries throughout his career as a whole, and particularly his tenure in the Bronx. A variety of leg injuries (and a biceps strain) limited Stanton to only 18 games in 2019 and 23 games in 2020, which led the Yankees to make Stanton into a full-time designated hitter prior to last season.
While New York’s lineup as a whole hasn’t lived up to its usual standard, Stanton has been a major bright spot, hitting .282/.347/.534 with nine home runs over 144 plate appearances. Despite all the injuries, Stanton has always been a very dangerous bat when he has been able to play, which naturally only adds to the concern over this MVP-level hitter seemingly being unable to stay on the field.
The severity of Stanton’s quad strain isn’t yet known. Given his track record, it’s probably safe to predict that the Yankees will hold Stanton out beyond the 10-day minimum just to be completely sure that this injury won’t linger (and result in another extended absence).
There is no way to really replace Stanton’s offensive contributions, of course, but the Yankees could now rotate a few players through the DH spot. Rougned Odor is expected back from the injured list relatively soon, to add to the position player mix. Speculatively, the absence of Stanton (not to mention Aaron Hicks and Gleyber Torres) could open up some playing time for Miguel Andujar, as the former Rookie Of The Year candidate has been lacking in consistent playing time since his own injury-ruined season in 2019.