Add another injury to the Yankees’ ranks.
Manager Aaron Boone announced on Wednesday that slugging outfielder Giancarlo Stanton suffered a Grade 1 calf strain. While a timetable for a return has not been disclosed as of yet, he will be shut down for some time, meaning he likely will not be ready for Opening Day next month.
The health issues keep coming for both the Yankees and Stanton.
His knock comes a day after it was announced starting pitcher Luis Severino will need Tommy John surgery and miss the 2020 season. Fellow starter James Paxton is also out two-to-three months after undergoing back surgery earlier in February.
Center fielder Aaron Hicks will miss a chunk of 2020 while he recovers from Tommy John surgery while Aaron Judge has yet to swing a bat at spring training due to what the team is calling shoulder soreness.
This comes after a 2019 campaign that saw 30 players spend time on the injured list.
Stanton was a regular on that list as his season was limited to just 18 games because of a bicep strain, left shoulder issues, a left calf strain, a sprained PCL in his right knee, and a right quad strain.
His extended absence has robbed the Yankees of properly developing the second coming of the “Smash Brothers,” alongside Judge. The two combined for 111 home runs in 2017 — Stanton was with the Marlins at the time — and were expected to feast at Yankee Stadium when the Bronx Bombers acquired him from Miami.
Stanton’s absence will allow the Yankees to get Miguel Andujar’s bat in the lineup on a regular basis for the time being.
Andujar’s third-base job was snagged by Gio Urshela last season when he was sidelined by a shoulder injury, prompting the Yankees to experiment with him in the outfield and at first base this spring.
With Stanton out, Andujar becomes the prime candidate to take over the DH spot.
