Well, it finally happened.
On June 23, 2024, the New York Yankees placed Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list with a strained left hamstring. Stanton said after the Yankees’ 3-1 loss to Atlanta on Sunday that he received a PRP injection and expects to miss about four weeks.
Stanton suffered the injury rounding third base on Gleyber Torres’ RBI double in the fourth inning of New York’s 8-3 victory over the Braves on Saturday.
It’s a hard and sudden stop to what was looking like a strong comeback season. Stanton struggled through injuries last season to bat an uninspiring .191 with 24 home runs and 60 RBI in 101 games.
In 2024, a slimmed-down Stanton is hitting .245 with 18 home runs and 45 RBI in 69 games. This comes from working with hitting coach James Rowson and focusing on attacking balls within the first three pitches of an at-bat. The Yankees now must fill that void until at or about the trade deadline.
The Yankees called up former top infield prospect Oswald Peraza to fill Stanton’s roster spot on Sunday. Peraza was sent back to Triple-A Scranton at the end of the game after the Yankees acquired J.D. Davis from Oakland.
Davis owns a 113 wRC+ for his career, so perhaps he can provide some extra production against left-handed pitching.
But there is still no replacing Giancarlo Stanton’s bat. Jasson Dominguez isn’t an option, he’s missing two months with an oblique after dominating his rehab. Trent Grisham has surprising power and should produce more with regular playing time, but he isn’t a former MVP.
Giancarlo Stanton, for all of his frustrating injuries, is still one of baseball’s most feared hitters when healthy. His bat speed is the fastest in the league, not bad for a banged up 34-year-old veteran.
The Yankees are still first in the AL East and just in the middle of a rough stretch. The talent is there up top for them to play their way out of it.
But given New York’s tendency to vanish at the plate whenever Stanton or Aaron Judge gets injured, fans’ collective skepticism is understandable. Hopefully, Stanton is back relatively soon.
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