It was only a matter of time before the New York Yankees sent the injury-prone Giancarlo Stanton to the IL.
It’s a tough break for Stanton, who was recently named MVP of the 2022 MLB All-Star Game. Fans selected Stanton as the starting left fielder in the first All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium in 42 years, which was played in his hometown of Los Angeles.
In a low-scoring game, Stanton locked up the MVP after crushing a towering, 457-foot two-run home run in front of his friends and family. Stanton grew up in the Valley and played baseball at Notre Dame high school in Sherman Oaks.
“I can’t really explain how special this is,” said Stanton. “It’s hard to put into words that this is reality right now. It’s really cool. I’m soaking it all in.”
The American League defeated the National League 3-2 for a ninth-straight All-Star Game victory.
In 80 games this season, Stanton hit just .228, but slugged 24 home runs and 61 RBI. He was slashing at .228/.309/.498, primarily as the DH, and was on pace to hit 40 home runs this year for his best output since joining the Yankees.
The Yankees are +380 odds to win the 2023 World Series as the second-best favorite on DraftKings MLB futures board. The Yankees are +170 odds to win the American League pennant and return to the World Series for the first time since 2009. In AL East odds, the Yankees are massive favorites at -3500 odds to win the division.
Yankees concerned with Stanton injury?
Stanton has left Achilles tendonitis and will be on the injury list for the next 10 days. To replace Stanton, the Yankees called up Tim Locastro from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
During his first season with the Yankees in 2018, Stanton appeared in 158 games and smacked 38 home runs and 100 RBI.
In 2019, the injury bug reared its ugly head when Stanton appeared in just 18 games and missed 144. During the pandemic-shorted 2020 season consisting of 60 games, Stanton missed 37. Last season, Stanton was relatively healthy and missed just 22 games, including nine due to inflammation in his right ankle. He hit 35 home runs and drove in 97 runs in 140 games.
This season, Stanton appeared in 82.5% of games and he missed 17 before heading to the injury list.
Stanton had been splitting time between DH and the outfield. The slumping Joey Gallo — who is on the trading block — will get a chance at more playing time and a chance to break out of his hitting funk. Expect Matt Carpenter and Anthony Rizzo to fill in at DH for the next week.
The Yankees (66-31) are just 3-2 since returning from the All-Star break, but they still boast the best record in baseball.
The Subway Series against the New York Mets begins tonight with the first of two games at CitiField in Queens. On Thursday, the Yankees begin a seven-game homestand with four games against the Kansas City Royals this weekend, and three games against the surging Seattle Mariners next week.