Giancarlo Stanton has made a significant impact on the field, but off the field, he faces some real struggles.
According to reports on NJ.com, he’s dealing with the persistent pain of tennis elbow in both arms. It’s a tough daily battle for him.
“I can’t open a bottle,” Stanton remarked. “You just can’t open a bag of chips, or really anything. That’s kind of how it goes.”
Last season, he was sidelined for the first 70 games due to this elbow issue. Instead of opting for surgery in the offseason, they decided against it, with Stanton suggesting that surgery wouldn’t necessarily resolve the pain.
This issue continues to affect Stanton, leading the Yankees to ease him into spring training.
So far, he hasn’t played in any of the Yankees’ first six spring training games, but both he and Yankees manager Aaron Boone are hoping he could be back by March 3, when they face Panama’s World Baseball Classic team.
This would give Stanton about two weeks to get back into shape ahead of Opening Day on March 25, complementing his batting practice sessions.
As for his status, Boone remains optimistic about Stanton being ready for a full season, although he plans on giving him some rest days.
“We tried that last year, and he had moments where he pushed through tough situations. But he wanted to play,” Boone explained. “There were also times when I had to remind him, ‘We have to be disciplined here because you’re essential to our team.'”
During his time with the Yankees, Stanton has only participated in about 56.4 percent of the 1,032 regular-season games. Elbow soreness, along with hamstring and oblique injuries, have kept him from playing.
Since joining the team in 2018, he has only played over 115 games once.
However, when he did play last year, he made it count. In his 77 games, he boasted a .273 batting average with a .944 OPS—his strongest performance since winning the MVP in 2017. He also hit 24 home runs.
Although primarily a designated hitter, he stepped up and played in the outfield when Aaron Judge was dealing with an injury.
“Getting into the box is crucial. Last season’s overall numbers were a bit low,” Stanton shared. “I want to play a full season.”
If Stanton can maintain his performance throughout the season, it would greatly support the Yankees in their quest for a championship, their first since 2009. He’ll have to manage the pain along the way, which adds another layer to the challenge.
