The Yankees have placed Giancarlo Stanton on their 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring penalty, the team announced. Thairo Estrada has been recalled to take Stanton’s place on the active roster.
Stanton was removed from yesterday’s 5-3 loss to the Rays, as manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com) that the slugger suffered the injury while running the bases in the fourth inning. Stanton was able to stay on the field and even advanced to both third and home later in the inning to score a run, though Mike Ford replaced Stanton during the next DH at-bat in the sixth inning.
Yet another trip to the IL is ominous news for Stanton and Yankees fans in the wake of the slugger’s often injured status over the past two seasons, and several leg-related issues (knee, quad, calf) were under Stanton’s long list of diseases. Stanton was limited to just 18 games in 2019 and he would miss time at the start of a normal planned 2020 season, if the league was not closed.
Although the first 14 games of the season, Stanton seemed to be in prime form, hitting .293 / .453 / .585 with three homers over his first 54 record appearances. Although in a small sample, this performance shows that Stanton is one of the sport’s most influential bats as healthy, although staying on the field is becoming an ever-increasing difficulty.
The Yankees played Stanton exclusively as a designated hitter this season to keep him as fresh as possible, and with the position now open, the club was able to coach several players via DH duty. Of those on the active roster, Ford and Mike Tauchman are the most likely candidates for more playing time, plus Miguel Andujar en Clint Frazier loom as potential calls from the army camp.
