For much of the season, the New York Yankees have been without one of their most powerful hitters. Giancarlo Stanton, the former National League MVP and perennial home run hitter, has been out since early spring training.
Initially, it was referred to as “tennis elbows,” which sounds more like a country club inconvenience than a serious athletic ailment. However, as is often the case in baseball, the truth eventually came out with a harder taste.
Torn Ligaments and The Long Road Back
Stanton hasn’t simply rested painful joints; he’s also coping with torn ligaments in both elbows. That’s not your typical discomfort.
This is the type of injury that makes ordinary tasks like picking up a bat seem like lifting a sledgehammer with a broken wrist. That’s a serious issue for someone whose swing is essentially a human-powered trebuchet.
Stanton has finally begun to see daylight, thanks to PRP injections, plenty of rest, and the type of rehab grind that seldom makes highlight reels.
Over the last three days, he’s been hitting off high-velocity machines, running, and reinstating baseball into his regimen. Then came Tuesday.
Taking Swings In Cleveland
When Yankees insider Max Goodman wrote on X that Stanton was taking pregame hitting practice on the field in Cleveland, it may not have stopped the press, but it certainly drew attention.
This was not simply another warm-up session. This was a man putting himself to the test in public, under stadium lights, against the ghosts of agony that had been haunting his swing for months.
That BP session may not be spectacular, but it’s as important to Stanton right now as a triple in the gap. Because the clock is ticking, and the next decision will either shape or terminate his season.
Pain or procedure?
The Yankees are on a tightrope with Stanton. If he can’t control the agony, surgery becomes the only option—and his season’s curtain will fall. So far, he is on the right side of the razor’s edge, but it remains a balancing act.
The next checkpoint is live pitching. Then comes a lengthy minor league rehab assignment, because no one wants to rush a power bat back only to have him shatter like a paper straw in a milkshake.
Crowded House in the Lineup
If Stanton returns, the Yankees will have an embarrassment of riches at DH/first base. Paul Goldschmidt, Ben Rice, and Stanton cannot all swing from the same position in the lineup.
That’s a puzzle for manager Aaron Boone, but really? It’s the type of situation that most skippers fantasize about.
Stanton is currently taking his swings one pitch at a time. And for the Yankees, it could be the most promising crack of the bat all season.
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