The Yankees have placed star slugger Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list with a strained hamstring. Aaron Boone first shared the news with former Reds and Nationals GM and current SiriusXM host Jim Bowden.
Jon Heyman of the Post later confirmed Stanton’s injury and move to the IL. In a corresponding move, the Yankees called up infield prospect Oswald Peraza.
Stanton has hamstring issue. Going on IL. MRI today.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 16, 2023
Stanton appeared to have suffered the injury in Saturday’s 6-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. He hit a booming 2-run double in the seventh inning before Aaron Hicks came in as a pinch-runner. Stanton remained in the dugout afterwards.
On the season, Stanton is batting .269 with four home runs, 11 RBI and a .854 OPS.
Unfortunately for Yankees fans, this has become par for the course. It’s rare for Giancarlo Stanton to go a season without hitting the injured list. His last proper full season came in 2018, his first full season as a Yankee. Since then, Stanton has hit the injured list annually and was even limited to 18 regular season games in 2019.
Injuries were no kinder to Stanton in 2022 either as he hit a career-worst .211 in 110 games due to a balky calf. Hamstrings can be just as tricky and with an MRI forthcoming, it’s a safe bet Stanton could miss up to a month.
The upside is that Peraza gets a chance to prove himself in the majors after losing the starting shortstop’s job to Anthony Volpe. He’s hit .290 in nine games at Triple-A and hit .306 in 18 MLB games last year, so perhaps his youthful presence boosts the lineup.
This also means Franchy Cordero should continue to get at-bats, and so should Hicks. Willie Calhoun’s bat also has some power potential and adds another lefty to the lineup. Harrison Bader and Josh Donaldson will also be back in the lineup as soon as this week.
None of those can replace Giancarlo Stanton or the magnificent power he brings to the table. The good news is it’s early enough in the season that the Yankees should be able to weather this storm.
