Giancarlo Stanton has been shut down for weeks dealing with soreness in both of his elbows, and the Yankees are still unsure when they’re getting their DH back. Aaron Boone spoke with reporters following the team’s 4-0 loss to the Tigers and when asked about the slugger’s potential timetable for starting up baseball activities again, he responded by saying nothing was imminent at the moment.
Without Stanton’s presence in the lineup, the Yankees will lose some serious home run power, which could be an issue given the loss of Juan Soto this winter. Some internal candidates could fill in for now, but the Yankees may have an uncertain immediate future at DH until they get a better understanding of Stanton’s injury.
Giancarlo Stanton’s Return is Still TBD, Yankees Looking Within For Answers
Not only did Giancarlo Stanton launch 27 home runs in 114 games for the Yankees last season, he was also one of their best hitters in the postseason. The Yankees cannot afford to lose Stanton right now given the state of the roster, as they are built to play defense and run the bases better but have lost power without Juan Soto. Aaron Boone’s lack of a concrete timetable regarding Stanton’s potential return only creates more concern for a player who has been injury-prone.
Since 2019, Giancarlo Stanton has had at least one stint on the IL, and he hasn’t played more than 150 games in a season once over that stretch either. When healthy, the power that Stanton provides is integral to the team’s offense, but they’re hoping that their internal options can step up and fill the void left behind. Ben Rice and Dom Smith are two popular candidates to break camp with the team while Stanton is down, both of whom are left-handed hitters.
READ MORE: Yankees: Good news and bad news from 4-0 loss to Tigers
Both Ben Rice and Dom Smith have unique flexibility that they bring to the roster, as Rice can catch and play first while Smith is both a first baseman and outfielder. The defensive metrics suggest that playing Dom Smith in the outfield is a bad idea, with -12 DRS and -20 OAA across 1,334 innings out there. The Yankees may feel comfortable playing him right field though, since it isn’t very demanding when it comes to range due to the smaller dimensions.
We could also see both players make the roster, as Ben Rice is competing for the backup catcher job and Dom Smith could make the team as a fourth bench bat. The Yankees like what they have in both players and believe they could step up and provide an immediate impact, which isn’t out of the picture given how the ballpark fits a left-handed hitter who can hit flyballs to right field.
Giancarlo Stanton will be this team’s primary DH again when healthy barring a breakout from either of their internal DH options. There are free agents out there on the market who could DH like J.D. Martinez, their limited versatility would make them rather useless when Stanton returns.