TAMPA — There has long been a view inside the Yankees organization of Giancarlo Stanton as the team’s hidden x-factor; when Stanton is healthy and slugging, the thinking goes, it elevates the entire offense.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the postseason, when Stanton’s league-best bat speed and focus make him an all-time clutch Yankee. But as manager Aaron Boone likes to point out, resurgent Stanton helped deliver the team to October in the first place.
This year, it looks as if the Yanks will be without Stanton at least to begin the season. The day after Boone said that Stanton was a bit behind due to “tennis elbow” or tendinitis in both elbows, Stanton said that he is experiencing a “very high” level of pain and has not swung a bat in three or four weeks.
“We’ll see how that goes,” Stanton said about Opening Day.
Remarkably, Stanton was dealing with the pain last October, when he was the MVP of the American League Championship Series.
“It’s definitely not just soreness,” he said. “It was a manageable thing [last year]. That’s how last year and this year will go. … It’s not a, ‘When did it feel good, when did it feel bad?’ There’s always a pain level there. You got to deal with that. It’s just the wisest point to give it time right now.”
Stanton, 35, is as important as ever to the Yankees offense, after the loss of Juan Soto in free agency to the Mets. If he misses time, DJ LeMahieu, Trent Grisham or Dom Smith, in camp as a non-roster invitee, could fill in at designated hitter.
Asked if he ever got close to the point last October of having to stop playing, Stanton said, “Pain wise, for sure. But the consideration of not going out there? Absolutely not.”
Stanton has 429 home runs, and would seal his Hall of Fame case by reaching 500. He is under contract for two more seasons, with a club option for 2027.