The New York Yankees may be without a massive piece of their offense for a while.
Currently dealing with injuries in both elbows, designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton is without a timetable for return as spring training enters its second week.
However, the latest update Thursday night provided some gloomy information on the slugger’s status, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post.
“There’s no timetable yet on Yankees star DH Giancarlo Stanton, who’s sidelined with painful tendon issues in both elbows and undergoing testing they’re characterizing as unrelated back in New York. But with Stanton unable to do any baseball activity and in New York, it seems very unlikely he’ll be ready for Opening Day and could possibly be out for weeks,” Heyman wrote.
That’s not a great sign for the Yankees, whose lineup already took a massive hit this offseason when they missed out on re-signing Juan Soto. The 26-year-old phenom took a $765 million contract to sign with the crosstown-rival New York Mets.
Stanton has dealt with injuries throughout his entire tenure in The Bronx, but starting the season without him will be an incredible loss for a lineup around reigning MVP Aaron Judge that is already with its handful of question marks.
Heyman noted that the Yankees have “had some contact” with six-time All-Star J.D. Martinez. But without a proper timetable for Stanton, it’s unclear how serious those talks will get.
In 114 games last season, Stanton hit .233 with 27 home runs, 72 RBI and a 115 OPS+. He was also arguably the team’s best hitter in the postseason alongside Soto. Stanton hit .273 with seven home runs, 16 RBI and a 1.048 OPS in 62 plate appearances.
New York has roughly a month until Opening Day, and Stanton appears to be heading in the wrong direction.
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