Yankees firm to avoid roster blues after Stanton injury blow

Tuesday September 6, 2022

Monday’s victory for the Yankees was their second in a row, but it did not come without additional cause for concern with more injuries.

Giancarlo Stanton was the latest to join the injured list. He took multiple balls off his foot and ankle in the 6th inning of a 5-2 win over the Twins. He stayed in the game to finish the at-bat, but Aaron Hicks hit for him in the 8th inning.

The Yankees roster continues to struggle with growing injury worries despite finding winning ways at Yankee Stadium.

Manager Aaron Boone stated that the X-rays came back negative, but the manager was unable to commit on whether or not Stanton would return to the Yankees lineup on Tuesday.

“We’ll just see what we got,” Boone told when asked about the roster.

During Stanton’s sixth-inning at-bat, Boone and a trainer went to check on him after he hit another ball out of play and got up hobbling. He stayed in the game and got hit by a pitch.

“I think it was when he was planting, it was just bothering him,” Boone added. “But nothing more.”

Stanton is less than two weeks removed from sitting out 28 games due to left Achilles tendinitis. However, Boone stated that Monday’s problems were unrelated to Stanton’s previous injury.

Stanton finished 0-for-3 with three groundouts before leaving the game because of an injury. The first two were missiles at 104.3 & 108.9 miles per hour, yet they hit the infielders smack in the middle.

Stanton has gone 4-for-38 (.105) with nine strikeouts, five walks, and no extra-base hits in the 10 games he has played since returning from the injury list (just as a designated hitter).

“For being as powerful as he is, he is a guy that hits the ball on the ground and on a line a lot,” Boone quoted saying, “Even when he’s come back, so far a lot of his — he’s probably hit about eight to 10 balls, rockets on the ground. Some for hits, two today right at guys. So he’s been a little unlucky in that way.”

“He tends to because of how his swing is, be a little more line drive, a lot more one-hopper ground balls and things like that. It has been a little bit that way since coming back, but I think it’s more for G just finding that really good timing,” the manager continued.

Even though Stanton’s return was slow, the Yankees couldn’t afford for him to miss more time. Anthony Rizzo (back) & DJ LeMahieu (toe) were already hurt, and Andrew Benintendi (broken hamate) was scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday.

Is Giancarlo Stanton injury a blow to the Yankees? Who will replace him on the Yankees roster?