Stanton: My frequent IL trips are ‘unacceptable’

Published

2 years ago

April 21, 2023

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1:33 PM ET

Giancarlo Stanton, currently sidelined because of a hamstring strain, said his frequent stints on the injured list are “unacceptable” because they put the New York Yankees “in a really tough spot.”

Stanton was placed on the 10-day IL on Sunday and is expected to miss six weeks. The 2017 National League MVP discussed his latest injury Thursday, saying he plans to “be back as soon as possible” while expressing frustration over the impact that his absence has on the Yankees lineup.

“It’s unacceptable [being injured] this often right now,” Stanton told reporters. “The team relies on me. I can’t have this continue to happen and put us in a really tough spot we weren’t prepared for.

“There are guys to fill the roles that’ll do just fine but at the same time, it’s my duty and responsibility to be out there.”

It marks the fifth consecutive season that Stanton, 33, will spend time on the IL. The slugger missed 223 of 546 possible games (41%) with the Yankees over the previous four seasons.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he disagrees with Stanton’s use of the word “unacceptable” and stressed that the organization is “dealing with the reality of trying to get him right.”

“The one thing I can say in Giancarlo’s case is I don’t question his professionalism and his commitment to doing all he needs to do to stay healthy and to be healthy,” Boone said before Thursday’s game against the Angels. “So there’s clearly that frustration, and Giancarlo feels that responsibility. He feels a responsibility to this team and to this organization to be the great player that he is, but to be able to do it more and more often.

“So I think there’s that disappointment and frustration. He feels bad for us, but I don’t say ‘unacceptable’ because I know the person and what he goes through and how he prepares. Sports is hard and you get hurt sometimes. As long as you’re doing everything possible to put yourself in the best position to be healthy, then it is acceptable.”

Stanton has been sidelined with a strained right biceps and strained PCL in his right knee (2019), strained left hamstring (2020), strained left quadriceps (2021) and right ankle inflammation and left Achilles tendinitis (2022).

Boone said earlier this week that the 6-foot-6, 245-pound Stanton “works very hard to try and avoid these things,” but the five-time All-Star acknowledged Thursday that he may have to make changes to prevent future injuries.

“You got to make little alterations to try to improve trying to stay on the field and try to not have this happen,” he said. “But there’s an original foundation that’s there regardless, so you got to make little tweaks however that may be.”

The Yankees have won two of their first three games without Stanton but have scored a total of just seven runs over that stretch. New York went 11-17 in the 28 games Stanton missed last season.

Stanton had just started heating up before suffering the left hamstring strain Saturday, batting .313 (10-for-32) with two home runs and seven RBIs in his past eight games.

“I mean, the disbelief and disappointment at [the timing of] this is hard to put into words and comprehend, and it’s very frustrating,” he said.

Stanton has not played a full season since 2018, the first year after the Yankees acquired him from the Miami Marlins.

“I can’t control it, but at the same time, it shouldn’t be happening,” he said. “It’s not like, ‘Hey, it’ll be OK later.’ I prepare my whole life. This is everything I put in for, so it’s very disappointing and frustrating. You want to keep a positive outlook, which I have, but at the same time it’s just so unbelievable.”

At the time of the trade with Miami, Stanton was owed $295 million over the final decade of a 13-year, $325 million he signed with the Marlins in November 2014. He will make $32 million this year and is under contract with the Yankees through the 2027 season.

ESPN’s Marly Rivera contributed to this report.

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Sources: Yankees get 3B in Rockies’ McMahon

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2 hours ago

July 25, 2025

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Sources: Yankees get 3B in Rockies' McMahon

Jorge CastilloJul 25, 2025, 02:05 PM ET
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NEW YORK — The Yankees are acquiring third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Rockies in exchange for minor league pitchers Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz, sources confirmed to ESPN on Friday.

The Yankees will assume the remainder of 30-year-old McMahon’s contract, which includes approximately $4.5 million for the remainder of 2025 and $32 million over the next two seasons.

An All-Star last season, McMahon was batting .217 with 16 home runs and a .717 OPS in 100 games for Colorado in 2025. He hit home runs in the first two games after the All-Star break and another on Tuesday and is on pace to keep his four-year 20-homer streak alive.

While the production has resulted in a 92 OPS+, which suggests McMahon has been 8% worse than the average major league hitter this season, he still represents a significant offensive upgrade at third base for New York.

The Yankees have had Oswald Peraza, one of the worst hitters in the majors, manning third base nearly every day since the club decided to release DJ LeMahieu, another former Rockies player, earlier this month and move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base. Peraza, while a strong defender, is slashing .147/.208/.237 in 69 games this season. His 24 wRC+ ranks last among the 310 hitters with at least 160 plate appearances this season.

Defensively, McMahon is a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman whose four Outs Above Average is third in the majors this season. He joins a Yankees club that has been marred by sloppy defense, most recently on Wednesday when it committed four errors in a defensive meltdown against the first-place Toronto Blue Jays.

Herring, 22, has recorded a 1.71 ERA in 89⅓ innings across 16 starts between Low- and High-A this season. He was a sixth-round pick out of LSU in the 2024 draft.

Grosz, an 11th-round pick in 2023, had a 4.14 ERA in 87 innings over 16 games (15 starts) for High-A Hudson Valley this season.

With third base addressed, the Yankees will continue to seek to acquire pitchers to bolster both their rotation and bullpen.

MLB.com first reported on the Yankees trading for McMahon.

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Mets trade for reliever in Orioles left-hander Soto

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2 hours ago

July 25, 2025

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Mets trade for reliever in Orioles left-hander Soto

Jorge CastilloJul 25, 2025, 01:07 PM ET
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The Mets acquired left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Orioles on Friday in exchange for two minor leaguers in what could be the first of multiple moves by New York to bolster its bullpen before the trade deadline Thursday.

The trade, which sent Class A right-hander Wellington Aracena and Double-A right-hander Cameron Foster to Baltimore, gives the Mets a hard-throwing left-hander to complement the club’s only lefty on the roster, Brooks Raley, who returned from Tommy John surgery last week.

Soto, who is 30 and was an All-Star with the Detroit Tigers in 2021 and 2022, has posted a 3.96 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate in 45 appearances this season. The Mets will be his fourth team since the 2022 season.

On Monday, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns plainly signaled that upgrading the bullpen for the stretch run is his top priority.

The need is clear. Injuries and overuse have depleted a relief corps that led the majors in bullpen ERA through May 31. Since June 1, the group has posted 4.52 ERA, good for 23rd in the majors.

Aracena, 20, is 1-1 with a 2.38 ERA in 17 games for St. Lucie. The Orioles said he is one of two pitchers in the minors this season to have thrown at least 60 innings without surrendering a home run.

Foster, 26, is 5-2 with two saves and a 2.97 ERA while pitching at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

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Fenway concession workers strike for Sox series

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2 hours ago

July 25, 2025

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Fenway concession workers strike for Sox series

Associated Press

Jul 25, 2025, 04:41 PM ET

BOSTON — Hundreds of Aramark workers at Fenway Park are on strike and planning to stay out for all of a homestand between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers starting Friday night.

Concession workers had set a deadline of noon Friday for Aramark and Fenway Park to reach an agreement with the Local 26 chapter of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island hotel, casino, airport and food services workers union.

The union went on strike at noon asking for “living wages, guardrails on technology and R-E-S-P-E-C-T!”

With the Red Sox and Dodgers scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m. EDT, union officials had a request for fans attending this homestand with food and beer workers on strike.

“We’re asking you to NOT buy concessions inside the ballpark,” Local 26 wrote on social media. “Tailgate before the games!”

Union workers walked the picket line wearing green T-shirts declaring “FENWAY WORKERS ON STRIKE.” They carried signs in the shape of a baseball proclaiming Local 26.

The Red Sox go out of town Monday with a game that night at Minnesota.