Giancarlo Stanton is inching toward a return.
According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, the New York Yankees’ designated hitter will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset Tuesday night.
Stanton has been on the 60-day injured list all season with tendonitis in both elbows, a bizarre situation for a field player, but yet another chapter in his long injury history.
After playing in 158 games during his debut 2018 campaign with the Yankees, Stanton has surpassed 114 games played just once (139 in 2021). Since the start of 2022, he has appeared in only 325 games. Stanton’s various hamstring, quad, knee, and shoulder injuries have largely limited him as a base runner and removed any chance of him playing the outfield.
However, despite his inability to stay on the field, he remains one of the most fearsome power hitters in the Majors. Over the last three years, Stanton has 162-game averages of 42 home runs, 106 RBIs, a .202 batting average, a .729 OPS, a 100 OPS+, and 46 walks to 131 strikeouts.
Those numbers are not nearly up to his historical output, which has seen him smack 429 home runs during his 15-year MLB career.
But every New York fan knows that Stanton does not make his bones until October.
In 41 career postseason games, Stanton is batting .265 with a .994 OPS, 18 home runs, 40 RBIs, and 17 walks to 43 strikeouts. With Aaron Judge still trying to shed his âpostseason chokerâ label, it may be up to Stanton to carry the load once again.
Stanton should take his time rehabbing, but upon his return, manager Aaron Boone will have some difficult decisions to make.
The Rice/Goldschmidt/Stanton Affair
For one, what do the New York Yankees do with Ben Rice? While primarily operating as a designated hitter, the 26-year-old lefty has a .241 batting average, an .825 OPS, a 129 OPS+, 12 home runs, and 19 walks to 50 strikeouts. He hits the ball hard, and those numbers, while impressive, are not fully indicative of his potential as a hitter.
He is still just 106 games into his MLB tenure and should only continue his ascension with more at-bats.
A DH/1B platoon feels like the best option, with Rice struggling against southpaws (.174 batting average, .714 OPS), especially compared to his splits against righties (.262 batting average, .859 OPS).
Rice can also play first base, but is a natural catcher and is still figuring out how to man the three. Perhaps New York gives first baseman Paul Goldschmidt more off-days once Stanton is back, and he could rotate with Rice depending on the pitching matchup.
Goldschmidtâs splits are even more drastic than Riceâs, with a .473 batting average and 1.392 OPS versus left-handers, and a .264 batting average and .654 OPS versus right-handers.
This is a good problem to have for Boone and New York, but it will still require a delicate navigation for optimal results.
In an ideal world, Rice can learn third base and fill that glaring hole on the left side of the infield. Goldschmidt would retain his everyday first base duties, and Stanton could ease back into the primary DH role.
However, Rice can not magically learn third base overnight, and barring a miracle, some talented batters will have to come off the bench for Boone. For now, Stanton’s journey back to the diamond remains the most important storyline.
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