New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton has dealt with a lot of injuries over the last few years, and general manager Brian Cashman has acknowledged that they expect Stanton to miss some time at least once in 2024.
“I'm not gonna tell you he's gonna play every game next year because he's not,” Brian Cashman said of Giancarlo Stanton, via Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. “He's going to wind up getting hurt again more likely than not because it seems to be part of his game.”
Stanton had the worst season in his career in 2023, and he played in just 101 games while dealing with injuries. Stanton played in 158 games in 2018, his first season with the Yankees, and in 139 in 2021, which was his second best season with the team. Every other season, Stanton has missed significant time due to injury.
The last two seasons, however, the injuries seemed to impact the on-field performance, when in the past Stanton would perform at a high level when he did play. Cashman acknowledged that in his press conference at the general manager meetings last week.
Cashman did say that the Yankees are working with Stanton on ways to improve mobility and flexibility. Stanton's decline in speed has been a problem, as he is slow on the base paths.
Stanton does still hit the ball very hard, but that is a rough combination when hitting too many ground balls. Stanton's lack of speed does not allow him to beat out many balls that do not get through the infield.
The Yankees need Stanton to rebound in 2024. It is not a surprise that Cashman is expecting him to miss at least some time, however. That is something he will have to take into account when constructing his roster this offseason.