Another day, another injury for Giancarlo Stanton. The Yankees outfielder and slugger returns to the IL for at least a month with a right knee strain, which he bruised while sliding into third base in a victory against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Stanton played only three games at the start of the season before he went on the IL for ten weeks a biceps injury. Initially the Yankees downplayed the injury and called it a strain. When he returned to action last week, Stanton confirmed that the injury was more severe and an actual biceps tear.
During his initial rehab stint, Stanton injured himself two more times including a shoulder strain and a calf strain. He missed all of April, May, and almost half of June.
Stanton played in only six games after returning from a lengthy stint on the IL for three different injuries. He now returns to the IL for a fourth different issue.
Initially, the Yankees placed Stanton on the 10-day IL. An MRI confirmed he did not tear his ACL or blow out his knee. However, general manager Brian Cashman said the team would be shutting Stanton down until August. Stanton will be on the IL for at least 40 days, or possibly more.
“This is a great player and important to our club,” said manager Aaron Boone. “Obviously when he’s going well, he’s one of those rare guys that can impact the game in a profound way and carry a club when he’s rolling on.”
Stanton finally hit his first home run of the season and was hitting .290 when he went down. Even without Stanton’s big bat, the Yankees set a franchise record (eclipsing the 1941 Yankees) and set the MLB record with a home run in 28-straight games.
Maybin, Maybe?
Cameron Maybin got hot and hit home runs in four consecutive games just before the team had to make a tough decision. Cut him or demote him?
Just before Aaron Judge returned to the lineup, Maybin hear a pop in his calf while rounding the bases. He got diagnosed with a Grade 2 calf strain and became the 20th member of the Yankees to head to the IL this season. Conservative estimates had Maybin out for roughly six weeks. Maybin hoped he could return sooner and in less than a month.
Brett Gardner, who had become a workhorse for the first half of the season, looked like he was finally going to get regular rest when Stanton returned. Now that Stanton is out for at least a month, Gardner returns to everyday action in left field.
The Yankees called Mike Tauchman instead of Clint Frazier. The Yanks organization would rather have Frazier play every day in AAA than ride the pine in the majors. Frazier struggled in the field, but excelled at the plate. If the Yankees did not acquire home run leader Edwin Encarnacion in a trade, then Frazier would probably be slotted in the DH role.
The Yanks were not the first team to win 50 games this season, however, they currently have the most wins in the American league with 52 victories. The Yankees looked like they were healthy for the first time all season with Aaron Hicks, Didi Gregorius, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton all back in the line up. However, the good health was short lived. The hex returned with another installment of horror series “Bronx ER “.