Yankees place Giancarlo Stanton on 10-day IL with left hamstring strain
Giancarlo Stanton is going to miss some time. How much remains to be seen.
The New York Yankees on Sunday placed Stanton on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, a day after the slugger exited Saturday night’s win against the Atlanta Braves.
Stanton was set to undergo an MRI on Sunday to determine the severity.
“We know he did something there, so we know it’s at least going to be those 10 days,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before Sunday afternoon’s series finale against Atlanta. “We’ll see the severity of it. I will say, G was in pretty good spirits last night, so hopefully that’s a result of it hopefully not being too severe.”
Stanton appeared to grimace as he rounded third base while scoring from second in the fourth inning of Saturday’s 8-3 victory in the Bronx. Trent Grisham then pinch-hit for the designated hitter in the bottom of the sixth.
The Yankees called up infielder Oswald Peraza from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before Sunday’s game to fill Stanton’s roster spot.
It’s the first IL stint of the season for Stanton, who has dealt with lower-body injuries throughout his tenure with the Yankees. Stanton missed about six weeks with a left hamstring strain last season, while a strain of the same hamstring cost him more than a month in 2020.
He also dealt with a calf strain and Achilles tendonitis in 2022.
Stanton, 34, trained differently in the offseason, incorporating more running into his routine, and was in the midst of a resurgent 2024 campaign. He is hitting .246 with 18 home runs and a .794 OPS and extended his hit streak to 10 games before exiting Saturday.
An outfielder by trade, Stanton played in 69 of the Yankees’ first 79 games, all as the designated hitter or as a pinch-hitter.
The righty-swinging Stanton has primarily batted fourth in the lineup against left-handed pitchers — behind Juan Soto and Aaron Judge — and fifth against right-handers, slotting in after Alex Verdugo.
“He’s been that force that you want in the middle,” Boone said. “He’s been a threat every day, and he’s gotten a lot of big hits for us, obviously hitting the ball out of the ballpark.
“These things happen over the course of the year,” the manager continued. “You’re gonna go through times where you get dinged up, and for the most part we’ve been pretty fortunate on that front, but it’s just on other guys to have to step up a little bit.”
Stanton batted .202 and totaled 55 home runs with a .442 slugging percentage in 211 games over the 2022-23 seasons.
Stanton’s absence creates an opportunity for Grisham, who arrived in the same December trade with the Padres that brought Soto to the Yankees. Grisham hit his fourth home run of the year on Saturday after replacing Stanton and was back in the lineup Sunday, playing center field and batting ninth.
A two-time Gold Glove winner in center field, the lefty-hitting Grisham entered Sunday with a .113 average in 62 at-bats this season but has played sporadically with Verdugo, Judge and Soto occupying the outfield spots.
“This should give him that uptick in playing time,” Boone said. “You never want it to come at the expense of something, but we do feel in Trent, we’ve got a really good player that’s sitting there [and] can help us win games.”
Judge, who moved to center field this season to accommodate Soto in right, will “probably” see more time as the designated hitter with Stanton out, according to Boone, who said he plans to cycle multiple players through the DH spot. Judge was the Yankees’ DH on Sunday.
Soto may also factor into the designated hitter mix, but Boone said Sunday, “I don’t think Juan really loves DHing all that much.”
Boone said the Yankees did not consider calling up prized prospect Spencer Jones, a Double-A outfielder who, through Saturday, had batted .288 with a .479 slugging percentage in June. Jasson Dominguez would have been considered if he weren’t out with an oblique strain, Boone acknowledged.
Stanton’s injury occurred less than a week after the Yankees lost Anthony Rizzo to a fractured right forearm. Rizzo is expected to miss about two months.
The Yankees traded for Stanton after the 2017 season, during which he hit 59 home runs with the Miami Marlins en route to NL MVP honors. Stanton’s 420 career home runs make him the active leader among MLB hitters.
Entering Sunday, Stanton’s 18 home runs were tied for the ninth most in baseball. Judge led the majors with 28 homers, while Soto also had 18.
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