Yankees $325 Million Slugger Predicted to Miss Entire Season With Bizarre Injury
After getting to the World Series last season, only to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees open their 2025 season on Thursday when they face the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium. But they will have to do it without their prodigious, but often-injured, slugger Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton has missed 353 games out of a possible 858 over the past six seasons with various injuries. He arrived at spring training this year reporting pain in both elbows, and as a result has not yet begun participating in baseball activities even as the season is about to begin. Now, New York sportswriters Nick Mongiovi and Cooper Albers of amNY have made a prediction, published Wednesday, that Stanton will miss the entire season. Their prediction stands in opposition to an earlier prognostication by Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay who saidhe expected Memorial Day, May 26, to the target for Stanton’s return. But the more pessimistic outlook now appears more realistic. Stanton has received three rounds of platelet-rich plasma injections on the elbow. The shots “have helped to an extent, but have not been a cure-all, as Stanton has not resumed baseball activities and remains out indefinitely,” according to a report Tuesday by Greg Joyce of the New York Post. Stanton has been afflicted with a calf muscle strain as well.
“The way (manager Aaron) Boone and the Yankees have handled Stanton’s injury has been alarming and suspicious,” wrote the amNY scribes. “The way it’s been handled, how Stanton has gotten hurt, and how long he’s been sidelined for his injuries over the year, he’ll miss all of the 2025 season.” Stanton is now entering the 11th season of the 13-year, $325 million contract he signed with the Miami Marlins, before the Florida franchise traded him to the Yankees in December 2017. On Wednesday, the Yankees placed Stanton on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Monday. But writer Robert Casey of the blog Bleeding Yankee Blue added that “it wouldn’t be shocking if he ends up on the 60-day IL. The Yankees’ handling of injuries has often left fans feeling like they’re being strung along, so this wouldn’t be a surprise.” Stanton has relied on the PRP injections to treat the so-far unexplained elbow injuries, but if surgery ends up being required to remedy the elbow issues, Stanton’s season will be over.
Yankees’ Aaron Judge Quietly Reached Spring Goal
The New York Yankees kick off their 2025 MLB regular season against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. While they are dealing with serious injury trouble, the AL East club is still entering this campaign with incredibly high expectations after falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series last year. Aaron Judge will be looking to build his remarkable 2024 season for the Yankees. In 158 games with the Yankees last year, the 6-foot-7 outfielder
posted 58 home runs, 144 RBIs, and a .322 batting average. This was good enough for him to win his second AL MVP, his second Hank Aaron Award, and his fourth Silver Slugger Award. In addition, he was named to his sixth All-Star, third All-MLB First Team, and led the AL in home runs and RBIs. After a spectacular 2024 season, Judge had a quiet Spring Training. He noticeably struggled at the plate during it, as he had one home run, five RBIs, and a very low .121 batting average. Although he had a tough spring, No. 99 also quietly hit a goal he had set. Back in early March, Judge told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch that his goal was to have 40 to 50 plate appearances by the end of Spring Training. The veteran slugger did just that, finishing the spring with 41 of them. Judge noted that he wanted to have that many plate appearances during Spring Training because he felt that it “might help” the Yankees have a better start in April. In 27 games last April, Judge had six home runs, 17 RBIs, 22 hits, and a .220 batting average in 27 games. It will be intriguing to see what kind of start the Yankees and Judge have in the 2025 season from here.
