GIAN' COME LATE
Questions abound as Stanton absence from Yankees lingers on
The Yankees have answered a lot of questions during their record-setting season. But, with the playoffs on the horizon as they sit well atop the AL East, a big one remains: What do they have in Giancarlo Stanton?
“That’s an impact bat, and he’s not just a DH. He’s much more than that,” Brian Cashman said of Stanton on Thursday, before the Yankees were bludgeoned 19-5 by the Indians at Yankee Stadium. “He’s an athletic outfielder despite the size. So hopefully we’ll be in a position to utilize him.
“He’s also coming back from a serious injury that takes time to heal.”
Actually, in his second year as a Yankee — with eight more to go — Stanton has endured multiple serious injuries that have limited him to a startling nine games and 38 plate appearances.
The 29-year-old spoke to the media Thursday, his first such availability since he suffered his latest setback, a strained PCL in his right knee on June 25. That marked his sixth game back from the injured list after an array of maladies — left biceps, left shoulder and left knee/calf — sidelined him from April 1-June 17.
Stanton voiced a cautious optimism about his return this season, saying, “I do want to have a few weeks of at-bats before October, for sure.”
So far, his rehabilitation has been limited primarily to work on a treadmill and in a batting cage, so the Yankees should score it a victory if Stanton returns to active play by Sept. 15.
“It’s been brutal on my side,” he said of his very odd season. “It’s been really good to see the team playing so well. That’s what’s really kept it not so bad to me, is to watch everyone bringing together wins in all different types of ways. Not one hero every night.
“That’s what I’ve been focusing on, not ‘Poor me,’ all the stuff. I’m just watching how good we’ve been playing. What games, what strategy for me to come file in, not to just be back playing, but to give another boost to what we’ve already been doing very well.”
Therein lies one of two key questions surrounding Stanton’s future: Will his return disrupt the team? Everyone knows that the 2019 Yankees offense has outperformed its immediate predecessor, which Stanton led in plate appearances. These Yankees hit for average far better (.272, entering Thursday’s action, compared to .249) and perform at a superior level with runners in scoring position (.304/.379/.536 compared to .253/.342/.442). The shocking surge of outfielder Mike Tauchman, one of the many “heroes” that Stanton acknowledged, has ensured that Yankees fans won’t hold group-prayer sessions regarding Stanton’s return.
The countering side of the argument should prevail in a debate; we are talking about one of the most prodigious hitters of the last decade. Nevertheless, you know what can occur in small sample sizes. You saw it last October, when Stanton fizzled in his postseason debut. You sure as heck don’t want to see a repeat of that and wonder what might have been with someone else getting those at-bats.
The second key Stanton question: Is he breaking down? How can you not be at least moderately alarmed by this season’s array of ailments?
Asked whether the volume of Stanton’s injuries concerned him about the player’s long-term viability, Cashman said, “No.”
“We haven’t talked about that,” Stanton said, and he later said, “Fluke things happen.”