Giancarlo Stanton left the New York Yankees’ game with the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night after pulling his left hamstring while running the bases in the sixth inning.
Manager Aaron Boone sounded optimistic after the team’s 8–3 win and said Stanton was “in good spirits.” However, the Yankees placed Stanton on the 10-day injured list on Sunday morning with a left hamstring strain. Infielder Oswald Peraza was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Stanton’s spot on the 26-man roster.
Stanton’s 18 home runs are tied for second-most in the Yankees’ roster with Juan Soto. Playing mostly at designated hitter in the lineup, he has a .247 batting average and .795 OPS.
The injury comes days after top prospect Jasson Domínguez went on the injured list with an oblique strain expected to sideline him for up to eight weeks. Domínguez would almost certainly have replaced Stanton in the Yankees’ lineup had he been healthy.
Stanton, 34, also suffered a hamstring strain last season, which kept him out for six weeks and limited him to 101 games.
Going on the injured list has been a regular occurrence for the veteran slugger. Since appearing in 158 games in 2018, his first season in New York, Stanton has suffered various injuries to his knee, quadriceps, ankle, Achilles and biceps, in addition to his hamstrings, that have resulted in eight IL stints – and 266 games missed – during his seven seasons with the Yankees.
Stanton’s frequent injuries led general manager Brian Cashman to grouse that getting hurt was “a part of his game” this past offseason. Cashman later met with Stanton and his agent to address the remarks and told reporters that “everything’s in a good spot.” Nonetheless, Stanton reported for spring training noticeably lighter in an apparent effort to reduce strain on his body.
While Stanton is sidelined, Soto and Aaron Judge will likely rotate in the DH spot with Trent Grisham playing more in center field. Grisham hit a home run on Saturday while pinch-hitting for Stanton.
