Fair or not, the perception has existed for years that it is a matter of when and not if New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton will eventually end up on the injured list.
Most recently, Stanton has dealt with worrisome cases of tennis elbow in both of his arms since 2024. During a recent chat with Randy Miller of NJ.com, Stanton shared a concerning admission regarding his status heading into March.
Giancarlo Stanton can’t perform common acts
“I can’t open a bottle,” Stanton acknowledged. “I can’t open a bag of chips…a bag of anything. That’s the way it is.”
Starting with the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, Stanton has appeared in 23, 139, 110, 101, 114 and 77 games during the regular season over the past six years. As Miller noted, Stanton missed the Yankees’ first 70 games of the 2025 season while rehabbing his elbow.
Stanton seems to know what is often said and written about him.
“The (public) outlook would be that I wouldn’t be (mentally tough) because I’ve missed games,” Stanton told Miller.
Why Giancarlo Stanton doesn’t have surgery to fix elbow issues
NYU Langone Health sports orthopedic surgeon Dr. Spencer Stein told Miller that Stanton may only need “a couple months recovery” if the 36-year-old underwent surgery to repair his elbow issues. Stanton suggested concerns related to what he’d be as it pertains to driving baseballs out of ballparks have prevented him from going under the knife.
“You get the surgery, and you can go back to being in the general population in a few months. But my job is to put some of the most force into a batted ball,” Stanton explained.
When healthy, Stanton has often been more his “Big G” persona than a member of “the general population” for the Yankees during the playoffs. From 2018-25, he posted a .926 OPS with 18 home runs and 44 RBI across 48 postseason games.
Stanton now wants to stay off the injured list for more than a few months.
“I want a full season,” Stanton added during his chat with Miller.
To achieve such a goal, manager Aaron Boone will likely have to rest Stanton early and often once the games begin to matter. One would think a Yankees team that has been accused of “running it back” with the same roster from this past fall likely won’t get to where it wants to go if Stanton isn’t available come October.