Latest On Giancarlo Stanton

Oct 15: Stanton is out the lineup once again for Game 3. Said manager Aaron Boone, as relayed in a tweet from MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch: “[Stanton] wants to play. But we’ve also had some real conversations about, you’ve got to be honest with where you’re at. I mean, there is an injury in there.”

Oct 13: Giancarlo Stanton isn’t in the Yankees’ lineup for Game 2 of the ALCS due to a quad strain, manager Aaron Boone told James Wagner of the New York Times (Twitter links) and other reporters.  Cameron Maybin will take Stanton’s spot in left field for tonight’s game.

Stanton suffered the injury while beating out an infield single in the second inning of Game 1, though it wasn’t serious enough for him to stop playing.  In fact, Stanton even homered in a later at-bat, before finally being replaced by Maybin prior to the bottom of the eighth (seemingly just for defensive purposes).  A post-game MRI, however, revealed the strain, hence Stanton’s absence from the lineup.  He could still potentially come off the bench to pinch-hit, or play in case of an emergency situation.  Boone was hopeful that the slugger would return to the starting nine at some point in the series, perhaps as early as Game 3 if Monday’s off-day provided enough time for Stanton to heal up.

2019 has already been an injury-marred season for Stanton, who played in only 18 games due to a variety of biceps, calf, shoulder, and knee problems, most notably a strained PCL in his right knee.  In the wake of such a year (not to mention Stanton’s lengthy injury history in past seasons), this day-to-day quad issue looms larger for him than it would for most other players.  To be fair, Boone could be engaging in a bit of gamesmanship against the Astros by not putting any sort of timeline on Stanton’s return, though it also could be that the Yankees themselves are being as cautious as possible with the outfielder’s status.  If Stanton is removed from the ALCS roster due to injury, he would be ineligible for the World Series if New York were to advance.

With Stanton sidelined, the Yankees have four outfielders (Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, and Maybin) remaining on their roster, with Hicks himself only just returning from a late-season elbow injury.