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Giancarlo Stanton is in his ninth season with the New York Yankees. The 36-year-old designated hitter has admittedly struggled with injuries for a sizable portion of his tenure. He is in year 12 of a 13-year, $325 million megadeal that he originally signed with the Miami Marlins.
In 2026, Stanton has missed a majority of the season. His first injury was a right calf strain suffered on April 24. When the DH was just on the verge of returning in mid-June, he hurt a different area of that calf and has been out since.
On Saturday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported that Stanton jogged in the outfield Friday. Manager Aaron Boone said that he expects the slugger to be back at some point this season: “He’ll be in there when the time’s right.”
In 24 games, all in March/April he slashed .256/.302/.422 for a .724 OPS, three home runs and 14 RBIs. Before these recent calf injuries, Stanton was hitting mostly in the fourth and fifth spot in the order.
The 36-year-old has put together a 6.3% walk rate and 30.2% strikeout rate this season. The walks are a bit down, albeit this short sample size is difficult to draw conclusions on. This less patient approach is perhaps what led to his lower slugging numbers than usual.
Stanton has been an important presence in New York’s lineup since he came over from Miami in 2018. When healthy, he has been one of their top sluggers and run producers.
The Yankees’ lineup overall has been solid this season. As of Aug. 8, they have a team OPS of .720 (15th in MLB). However, they have been fairly anemic since the injury to star outfielder Aaron Judge.
Even with that said, the DH spot is quite crowded. First baseman/DH Ben Rice has been taking all of the reps there since the club traded for Luis García Jr last Sunday. Rice has been amazing this year, posting a crisp .900 OPS in 475 plate appearances.
The aforementioned García and veteran 1B/DH Paul Goldschmidt are scheduled to share a platoon at first base for the rest of the season. That means that Rice will likely be the DH permanently.
If Stanton does return this season, it is currently unclear as to how he will fit in the Yankee lineup. His production was underwhelming when he was healthy, and now the team has other options. This will be an interesting situation to monitor when the time comes.
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In 2026, Stanton has missed a majority of the season. His first injury was a right calf strain suffered on April 24. When the DH was just on the verge of returning in mid-June, he hurt a different area of that calf and has been out since.
On Saturday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported that Stanton jogged in the outfield Friday. Manager Aaron Boone said that he expects the slugger to be back at some point this season: “He’ll be in there when the time’s right.”
Stanton’s contribution this season
In 24 games, all in March/April he slashed .256/.302/.422 for a .724 OPS, three home runs and 14 RBIs. Before these recent calf injuries, Stanton was hitting mostly in the fourth and fifth spot in the order.
The 36-year-old has put together a 6.3% walk rate and 30.2% strikeout rate this season. The walks are a bit down, albeit this short sample size is difficult to draw conclusions on. This less patient approach is perhaps what led to his lower slugging numbers than usual.
Stanton has been an important presence in New York’s lineup since he came over from Miami in 2018. When healthy, he has been one of their top sluggers and run producers.
What a possible late-season return would mean
The Yankees’ lineup overall has been solid this season. As of Aug. 8, they have a team OPS of .720 (15th in MLB). However, they have been fairly anemic since the injury to star outfielder Aaron Judge.
Even with that said, the DH spot is quite crowded. First baseman/DH Ben Rice has been taking all of the reps there since the club traded for Luis García Jr last Sunday. Rice has been amazing this year, posting a crisp .900 OPS in 475 plate appearances.
The aforementioned García and veteran 1B/DH Paul Goldschmidt are scheduled to share a platoon at first base for the rest of the season. That means that Rice will likely be the DH permanently.
If Stanton does return this season, it is currently unclear as to how he will fit in the Yankee lineup. His production was underwhelming when he was healthy, and now the team has other options. This will be an interesting situation to monitor when the time comes.
— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter —
Continue reading...
