Accidents to Stanton, Gil, and LeMahieu Will Take a look at the Yankees

A cynic would say that Giancarlo Stanton is in midseason type. On Saturday, the Yankees formally introduced that the 35-year-old slugger will open the season on the injured listing attributable to recurring points with each elbows. He’s not the one outstanding Yankee who’s out of the image — or at the very least uncertain — for the Opening Day roster, as Luis Gil can be sidelined for a very good chunk of the season attributable to a strained latissimus dorsi, and DJ LeMahieu has suffered an obvious left calf pressure, with its severity and prognosis to be decided by an MRI on Tuesday.

Probably the most notable harm, if not probably the most impactful one, is Stanton’s. Two weeks in the past, simply earlier than the crew’s first full-squad exercise, supervisor Aaron Boone stated that the slugger was “coping with some elbow stuff… akin to tennis elbow” in each arms, including that it was a problem he handled final 12 months as effectively. Tennis elbow, formally referred to as lateral epicondylitis, is a situation attributable to overuse of the muscle tissue and tendons within the elbow, significantly by a repetitive twisting of the wrist (suppose swinging a tennis racket… or a bat). The tendons that be part of the forearm muscle tissue on the skin of the elbow endure microscopic tears and don’t heal totally, resulting in irritation and ache. With Stanton having not swung a bat since mid-January attributable to ache and the danger of exacerbating the issue, and despite anti-inflammatory remedy, crew docs have moved on to a extra aggressive strategy. Final week, whereas touring to New York for a personal matter, Stanton acquired platelet-rich plasma injections in each arms with a view to promote therapeutic.

The injections rule out Stanton for the Yankees’ March 27 opener in opposition to the Brewers in New York. Past that, his timeline is unclear, however assuming just a few weeks of restoration from the PRP pictures, just a few extra to ramp as much as full sport exercise, a rehab project, and a pair additional weeks of padding as a result of Stanton isn’t the world’s quickest healer, the maths suggests an April return is unlikely. That stated, I wouldn’t suggest parsing Aaron Decide’s phrases — “I desire a wholesome G in the course of the season” — too actually simply but.

Regardless, it is a bummer for Stanton and the Yankees. That is his seventh consecutive season with a visit to the IL, although opposite to the impression created by his litany of accidents, that is the primary time in his 15-year main league profession he’ll open the 12 months on the shelf.

Final 12 months, Stanton performed 114 video games, his highest whole since 2021, and hit .233/.298/.475 with 27 homers, a 116 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR — modest numbers that nonetheless represented a 30-point, 1.4-WAR enchancment over his depressing ’23 marketing campaign. He shook himself out of a second-half droop to hit a ridiculous .273/.339/.709 (183 wRC+) with seven homers in 62 postseason plate look. He earned ALCS MVP honors for hitting .222/.333/.889 with 4 homers and 7 RBI in 5 video games in opposition to the Guardians, and was the one Yankee to hit a number of homers throughout their World Sequence loss to the Dodgers.

Stanton didn’t play the outfield in any respect in 2024 after doing so 38 instances in ’22 and 33 instances in ’23. Changing him as a full-time DH might get Decide (who DHed 41 instances final 12 months) or 37-year-old first baseman Paul Goldschmidt off their ft with out the extra fretting about benching an out there and potent Stanton. As a substitute of an outfield with Jasson Domínguez in left discipline, Cody Bellinger in middle, and Decide in proper, the Yankees might DH Decide whereas enjoying the defensively adept Trent Grisham in middle and Bellinger in proper, although Grisham’s 2024 manufacturing (.190/.290/.385, 91 wRC+) was just a few rungs beneath Stanton’s degree.

The most definitely beneficiary of Stanton’s absence isn’t Grisham however Ben Rice, a 26-year-old lefty who spent a very good chunk of final summer time filling in for the injured Anthony Rizzo at first base. Although he tore up Double- and Triple-A earlier than getting off to a promising begin that included a three-homer sport in opposition to the Crimson Sox on July 6, Rice hit simply .171/.264/.349 (73 wRC+) with seven homers in 178 PA. If he fails to persuade the Yankees to convey him north, the most definitely substitute from inside is 29-year-old non-roster invitee Dominic Smith, a former High 100 prospect who hit .233/.313/.378 (93 wRC+) in 307 PA final 12 months with the Crimson Sox and Reds, and who owns a equally subpar 96 wRC+ and -0.1 WAR for his profession.

Right here’s a peek on the Yankees’ DH Depth Chart, the place they rank twelfth primarily based on an estimate of Stanton approximating his enjoying time from the previous two seasons:

If Stanton’s harm seems to be severe sufficient for the Yankees to look exterior the group, the free agent market presents an apparent resolution in J.D. Martinez. He’s 37, even older than Stanton or LeMahieu, and coming off a mediocre season with the Mets. After signing in late March and debuting in late April, he hit simply .235/.320/.406 (108 wRC+) with 16 homers in 495 PA as a full-time DH. He did bash 33 homers and hit for a 135 wRC+ in simply 113 video games with the Dodgers in 2023, and doubtless deserved higher final 12 months primarily based on his Statcast numbers. Most notably, his 66-point hole between his slugging proportion and .472 xSLG tied Salvador Perez for the second-largest within the majors behind Soto’s 77-point hole, and his 73-mph common bat velocity held regular from the second half of 2023 to ’24 primarily based on lately launched knowledge.

As for the 36-year-old LeMahieu, he tweaked his left calf whereas working out a popup within the fourth inning of Saturday’s Grapefruit League sport in opposition to the Astros. YES Community’s Meredith Marakovits reported that he’s scheduled for an MRI, including, “He stated his calf remains to be fairly sore right now however hopeful it’s a low grade pressure.”

LeMahieu is meant to be within the combine for taking part in time each at DH and third base, at the very least if he can present that he’s one thing greater than the desiccated stays of a two-time batting champion. A low-grade pressure would possibly solely sideline him for a few weeks, however he’s bought work to do to rebound from a depressing 2024 season bookended by substantial stints on the IL. In March, he fouled a ball off his proper foot, struggling a non-displaced fracture that delayed his debut till Could 28. He hit a skinny .204/.269/.259 (52 wRC+) — that’s 5 doubles and two homers — in 228 PA earlier than an impingement in his proper hip sidelined him for the season in early September. He hasn’t performed a postseason sport since 2020; he was on the bench for the 2021 AL Wild Card sport and was sidelined by a toe harm on his proper foot in ’22 as effectively.

With Gleyber Torres‘ departure, Jazz Chisholm Jr. has shifted from third base to second, leaving LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, Pablo Reyes, and Jorbit Vivas competing for time at third. Not solely is LeMahieu down, however Vivas, a 23-year-old prospect, has been sidelined by a sore proper shoulder up to now. The group ranks simply twenty fourth on our Third Base Depth Charts, with most of that worth coming from stable protection backed by meager offense.

Turning to the rotation, the Yankees could possibly be with out Gil for a lot of the primary half — or longer. The 26-year-old righty, who gained AL Rookie of the 12 months honors final 12 months, ended his Friday bullpen session after simply 5 pitches and underwent an MRI that confirmed a high-grade proper lat pressure. He’ll be shut down from throwing for at the very least six weeks. If additional testing doesn’t reveal extra issues, and he doesn’t endure any extra setbacks, he’d want roughly one other six weeks to ramp up, so a best-case state of affairs places his return to the majors across the begin of June.

Alas, that timetable could also be too optimistic given the latest historical past of lat strains amongst Yankees starters, because the membership tends to handle these accidents pretty conservatively. Luis Severino suffered three of them whereas with the Yankees, in 2019, ’22, and ’23. The 2019 one occurred whereas he was rehabbing from a rotator cuff pressure; he was recognized with a Grade 2 pressure (gulp) round April 10 and didn’t return till mid-September, making simply three common season begins that season. He missed 10 weeks attributable to his 2022 lat pressure, after which eight weeks attributable to his ’23 one; each had been characterised as low-grade strains. Clarke Schmidt, who suffered a high-grade lat pressure final 12 months, missed about 15 weeks.

Gil was one of many Yankees’ actual vivid spots final 12 months. After lacking practically all of 2022 and ’23 attributable to Tommy John surgical procedure, he seized the rotation emptiness created by Gerrit Cole’s early-season absence and posted a 3.50 ERA, a 4.14 FIP, and a 26.8% strikeout fee in 151.2 innings. His sharp workload enhance — he threw simply 4 aggressive innings in 2023, in comparison with 163 together with the minors and the most important league postseason in ’24 — at all times marked him as one thing of an harm danger going ahead, and, effectively, right here we’re.

The lack of Gil nonetheless leaves the Yankees with 5 main league-caliber starters in Cole, Schmidt, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, and Marcus Stroman, although none of them is bulletproof. Cole was restricted to 17 begins final 12 months attributable to nerve irritation and edema in his proper elbow, whereas Schmidt made simply 16 begins attributable to his lat pressure. Fried made 29 begins for the Braves final 12 months and Rodón 32 for the Yankees, however every made simply 14 begins attributable to hamstring and forearm strains in 2023 (plus a blister for Fried). Stroman, who gave the impression to be the odd man out if the opposite 5 pitchers had been wholesome, made 29 begins final 12 months (and 25 in 2023 with the Cubs) however was the least efficient of the Yankees’ common starters, pitching to a 4.31 ERA and 4.62 FIP in 154.2 innings.

The Yankees spent the winter exploring the potential of buying and selling the 33-year-old Stroman, who’s making $18 million this 12 months and has an $18 million participant possibility for 2026 that vests with 140 innings pitched. Reportedly, they proposed a Stroman-for-Nolan Arenado commerce with the Cardinals, however St. Louis, already awful with contact-oriented starters and heading into an overhaul, wasn’t occupied with taking over Stroman’s contract. Even when they had been, Arenado has a full no-trade clause, to not point out $74 million remaining on his contract, although the Cardinals are on the hook for less than about $60 million, with the Rockies and deferred cash accounting for the hole. That the Yankees are already about $4 million above the highest Aggressive Steadiness Tax threshold ($301 million) makes them unlikely so as to add Arenado or one other name-brand participant with out subtracting Stroman, even when the third baseman had been to waive his no-trade.

In fact, the lack of Gil compromises the Yankees’ depth, leaving righties Will Warren and Carlos Carrasco as the subsequent males up. The 25-year-old Warren, a 50 FV prospect who positioned sixty fifth on our High 100 listing, was torched for a ten.32 ERA in 22.2 innings with the Yankees final 12 months and posted a 5.91 ERA and 4.63 FIP in 109.2 innings with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, although his sinker/sweeper/changeup/cutter mixture is sufficient to challenge him as a fourth starter within the making. Carrasco, a non-roster invitee who will flip 38 on March 21, was knocked round to the tune of a 5.64 ERA and 4.93 FIP in 103.2 innings with the Guardians final 12 months. JT Brubaker, a 31-year-old righty acquired from the Pirates final March, suffered three damaged ribs final week attributable to a comebacker; he hasn’t pitched within the majors since 2022 after present process Tommy John surgical procedure the next April.

With out Stanton or a dependable third baseman, the Yankees will head in the direction of Opening Day with important questions on offense from two spots, and with out Gil, they don’t have a lot of a cushion if extra accidents strike the rotation. These losses aren’t sufficient to compromise the Yankees’ place as AL East favorites, however our Playoff Odds challenge roughly a six-win hole between them (87.4 wins) and the fifth-place Rays (81.3 wins). They don’t have an enormous margin for error, so that they’ll should hope these conditions don’t spiral into larger issues.