Giancarlo Stanton left the New York Yankees’ game against 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, saying Stanton was in “good spirits.” However, the Yankees drafted 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 rank second on the Yankees’ roster, tied with Juan Soto. He plays primarily as a designated hitter in the lineup and 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 eight weeks. Domínguez almost certainly would have replaced Stanton in the Yankees’ lineup had he been healthy.
The 34-year-old Stanton also suffered a hamstring injury last season, which kept him out of action for six weeks and only allowed him to play 101 games.
It’s a regular occurrence for the veteran slugger to go on the injured list. Since appearing in 158 games in 2018, his first season in New York, Stanton has suffered several injuries to his knee, quadriceps, ankle, Achilles tendon and biceps, in addition to his hamstrings, that have resulted in eight IL stints – and 266 missed games – during his seven seasons with the Yankees.
Stanton’s frequent injuries led general manager Brian Cashman to grumble that getting hurt was “part of his game” last season. Cashman later met with Stanton and his agent to address the comments, telling reporters that “everything is in a good place.” Nevertheless, Stanton reported for spring training noticeably lighter in an apparent effort to reduce the strain on his body.
While Stanton is sidelined, Soto and Aaron Judge will likely rotate at the DH spot, while Trent Grisham plays more in the midfield. Grisham hit a home run on Saturday while pinch-hitting for Stanton.
