Leaner … and meaner? Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton looks to climb back from rock-bottom
-
Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
TAMPA, Fla. — All it takes is one glance to notice Giancarlo Stanton is much leaner this spring than he was when the New York Yankees‘ 2023 season unceremoniously ended.
Stanton prefers not to discuss the change. Not that he was out of shape before. He’s been a mass of muscle ever since making his major league debut 14 years ago. He has always looked more like a tight end than a baseball player. He still does.
“He’s jacked, bro,” Aaron Judge said. “It’s crazy.”
Stanton pointed out that he alters his routine every offseason, adjusting and reacting to the failures or successes of the previous year. But 2023 was different — it was rock-bottom.
Last season bordered on embarrassment, prompting his latest reassessment. Now 34, Stanton concluded carrying less weight would help him get through the coming season healthy. After last year, when even running the bases seemed like a struggle for him at times, Stanton focused on improving his mobility, on adding explosiveness, on becoming more of a spark on the diamond.
Stanton has also made a small change in the batter’s box. He’s moved his hands slightly closer to his body to stay on inside pitches more.
“This is a game of millimeters,” Stanton said, “so slight is huge in some aspects.”
The question is: Will it all work?
“You gotta be willing to make the changes,” Stanton said, “and trust the direction you’re going when you do it.”
This is about finding a detour. Stanton, who arrived in the Bronx after his best and healthiest season, a National League MVP campaign with the Miami Marlins in 2017, has played more than 110 games in just two of his six years in New York. He has landed on the injured list each of the last five seasons, and eight times total. He’s missed time with biceps, knee, quadriceps, hamstring, and calf injuries. In 2022, Achilles tendinitis derailed his All-Star season after he clubbed 24 home runs with an .835 OPS in 76 games in the first half.
The 2023 season, though, was the worst of his career.
Stanton missed nearly two months with a strained hamstring. When he did play, it was ugly. He posted career lows in batting average (.191), on-base percentage (.275) and slugging percentage (.420). Not only did he look uncomfortable running the bases, he could barely play the outfield by September.
In November, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman offered a blunt assessment in a testy scrum with reporters, saying Stanton “is going to wind up getting injured again more likely than not because it seems to be part of his game.”
That sparked a public response from Stanton’s agent, Joel Wolfe. “I think it’s a good reminder for all free agents considering signing in New York both foreign and domestic,” Wolfe said in a statement to The Athletic while also making a thinly veiled reference to another one of his clients, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, “that to play for that team you’ve got to be made of Teflon, both mentally and physically because you can never let your guard down even in the offseason.”
Both Cashman and Stanton have said the episode is behind them. And Cashman’s harsh evaluation didn’t change this fact: Stanton isn’t going anywhere.
Stanton has four years and $128 million guaranteed remaining on his contract. The Yankees are on the hook for $98 million — the Marlins will pay the rest. Moving that money off the payroll by dealing Stanton is next to impossible at this juncture. Instead, the Yankees made offseason moves to deepen their lineup and lessen the impact should Stanton have another disastrous season.
Juan Soto was acquired to be the one-two punch partner with Judge that Stanton has lately failed to be. Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham — along with Soto — were added to the outfield rotation. The Yankees hope Stanton can cycle through the outfield rotation twice a week, giving Soto and Judge a chance to take his usual DH spot. But the Yankees don’t have to rely on that happening to win games. A productive Stanton season is gravy.
“First and foremost, hopefully health,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said when asked what he thinks Stanton’s slimmer build could produce. “But definitely moving around, being more athletic, being more of a presence on the bases. More of a realistic option in the field. All those things.”
Stanton got off to a slow start in Grapefruit League play, going 1-for-15 with one walk through six games. He has since posted three multihit games and hit his first spring training home run Saturday.
“He looks really good to me for what he’s trying to do up there,” hitting coach James Rowson said earlier this month. “He has a plan on what he wants to do. It’s not necessarily right now about the results. It’s more about the process. And his process is really good. It’s been really good down in the cage.
“His preparation to come out here every day has been incredible. Like something I haven’t seen before.”
Ultimately, it’s about where Stanton is at this summer and, the Yankees hope, when his team returns to October after missing the playoffs in 2023. Is he on the injured list? On the bench? In the lineup every day enjoying a bounce-back season?
Stanton looks different. It won’t matter if the results are the same.
“I want to help us win a championship,” Stanton said. “Obviously, if I produce the way I can, we’ll be in a good spot to do that, and that’s my job to do.”
Two top five teams lost in Week 8, with Miami losing to Louisville and Ole Miss blowing a multi-score lead against Georgia. Texas Tech’s first loss of the season came in a squeaker against Arizona State. Meanwhile, Ohio State looked as steady as ever in a 34-0 shutout of Wisconsin and Indiana blew out Michigan State to remain undefeated.
What does it all mean for the AP Top 25? Let’s break down the rankings.
Stats courtesy of ESPN Research.
All times Eastern.
Previous ranking: 1
2025 record: 7-0
Week 8 result: Defeated Wisconsin 34-0
Stat to know: Ohio State has won 15 straight games as the AP No. 1, the longest streak by a Big Ten team.
What’s next: Nov. 1 vs. Penn State
Previous ranking: 3
2025 record: 7-0
Week 8 result: Defeated Michigan State 38-13
Stat to know: Indiana is now 16-0 against unranked opponents under Curt Cignetti.
What’s next: Saturday vs. UCLA
Previous ranking: 4
2025 record: 7-0
Week 8 result: Defeated Arkansas 45-42
Stat to know: This is Texas A&M’s first 7-0 start since 1994.
What’s next: Saturday at LSU, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Previous ranking: 6
2025 record: 6-1
Week 8 result: Defeated Tennessee 37-20
Stat to know: With the win over Tennessee, Alabama became the first team in SEC history to win four straight games, all against ranked teams, with no bye week mixed in.
What’s next: Saturday at South Carolina, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Previous ranking: 9
2025 record: 6-1
Week 8 result: Defeated Ole Miss 43-35
Stat to know: Georgia is 2-0 at home under Kirby Smart when trailing by nine or more points entering the fourth quarter.
What’s next: Nov. 1 vs. Florida (in Jacksonville, Florida), 3:30 p.m., ABC
Previous ranking: 8
2025 record: 6-1
Week 8 result: Defeated Rutgers 56-10
Stat to know: Oregon is 6-0 following losses under Dan Lanning.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Wisconsin
Previous ranking: 12
2025 record: 7-0
Week 8 result: Defeated Duke 27-18
Stat to know: Georgia Tech had a 95-yard fumble return in the first quarter, the longest in school history.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Syracuse, noon
Previous ranking: 5
2025 record: 6-1
Week 8 result: Lost to Georgia 43-35
Stat to know: Ole Miss gained just 13 yards in the fourth quarter, tied for its third-fewest in a quarter under Lane Kiffin.
What’s next: Saturday at Oklahoma, noon, ABC
Previous ranking: 2
2025 record: 5-1
Week 8 result: Lost to Louisville 24-21
Stat to know: The loss to Louisville was Miami’s fourth home less as a double-digit favorite under Mario Cristobal, the most losses in FBS in that span (since 2022).
What’s next: Saturday vs. Stanford, 7 p.m., ESPN
Previous ranking: 17
2025 record: 6-1
Week 8 result: Defeated LSU 31-24
Stat to know: This is Vanderbilt’s first 6-1 start since 1950.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Missouri
Previous ranking: 15
2025 record: 7-0
Week 8 result: Defeated Utah 24-21
Stat to know: BYU has started 7-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.
What’s next: Saturday at Iowa State, 3:30 p.m., Fox
Previous ranking: 13
2025 record: 5-2
Week 8 result: Defeated USC 34-24
Stat to know: Notre Dame has won seven of its past eight meetings with USC.
What’s next: Nov. 1 at Boston College
Previous ranking: 14
2025 record: 6-1
Week 8 result: Defeated South Carolina 26-7
Stat to know: This was Oklahoma’s first win against South Carolina.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Ole Miss, noon, ABC
Previous ranking: 7
2025 record: 6-1
Week 8 result: Lost to Arizona State 26-22
Stat to know: The loss to Arizona State was Texas Tech’s first game of the season with 20 or more points allowed.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Oklahoma State, 4 p.m.
Previous ranking: 16
2025 record: 6-1
Week 8 result: Defeated Auburn 23-17 (2 OT)
Stat to know: Missouri has won 22 straight games against unranked opponents.
What’s next: Saturday at Vanderbilt
Previous ranking: 18
2025 record: 6-1
Week 8 result: Defeated Washington State 22-20
Stat to know: Virginia’s 6-1 start is its best through seven games since 2007.
What’s next: Saturday at North Carolina, noon, ACC Network
Previous ranking: 11
2025 record: 5-2
Week 8 result: Lost to Alabama 37-20
Stat to know: Tennessee’s 20 points against Alabama is its fewest scored in a game this season.
What’s next: Saturday at Kentucky, 7:45 p.m., SEC Network
Previous ranking: 19
2025 record: 6-1
Week 8 result: Defeated Florida Atlantic 48-13
Stat to know: The win over FAU was South Florida’s fourth straight game with at least 48 points.
What’s next: Saturday at Memphis, noon
Previous ranking: NR
2025 record: 5-1
Week 8 result: Defeated Miami 24-21
Stat to know: Louisville’s win over Miami was its second over an AP top-2 team in program history.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Boston College, 7:30 p.m., ACC Network
Previous ranking: 10
2025 record: 5-2
Week 8 result: Lost to Vanderbilt 31-24
Stat to know: Garrett Nussmeier has thrown a passing touchdown in 13 straight games, the third-longest active streak among current SEC quarterbacks.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Texas A&M, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Previous ranking: 24
2025 record: 6-1
Week 8 result: Defeated Oklahoma State 49-17
Stat to know: This is Cincinnati’s first 6-1 start to a season since 2022.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Baylor, 4 p.m.
Previous ranking: 21
2025 record: 5-2
Week 8 result: Defeated Kentucky 16-13 (OT)
Stat to know: Texas’s 179 total yards against Kentucky marked its fewest in a win in the past 30 years.
What’s next: Saturday at Mississippi State
Previous ranking: NR
2025 record: 5-2
Week 8 result: Idle
What’s next: Saturday vs. Washington
Previous ranking: NR
2025 record: 5-2
Week 8 result: Defeated Texas Tech 26-22
Stat to know: Arizona State is now 6-1 against AP-ranked opponents since the start of the 2024 season.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Houston, 8:00 p.m., ESPN2
Previous ranking: NR
2025 record: 5-2
Week 8 result: Defeated Washington 24-7
Stat to know: Michigan is on a 28-game home winning streak against AP unranked teams.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Michigan State, 7:30 p.m., NBC
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024