The regular season hasn't begun yet, but the New York Yankees already have a difficult situation on their hands. The team's DH, Giancarlo Stanton, is dealing with tennis elbow in both of his elbows. That injury has forced Stanton to be limited at the beginning of spring training and according to Jon Heyman of the NY Post, will cause the 35-year-old to head back to New York for further testing.
Giancarlo Stanton is set to undergo medical testing in New York, per @JonHeyman
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) February 24, 2025
Stanton has been limited this Spring Training due to having tennis elbow in both arms pic.twitter.com/J8Ex55C8Sg
The results of said tests remain to be seen, but given Stanton's injury history, it certainly wouldn't be shocking to see him begin the 2025 regular season on the IL.
Stanton beginning the year on the IL, especially with Juan Soto now playing across town, is not what the Yankees wanted to see. The team's projected Stanton-less lineup reflects just how much he'd be missed if he had to begin on the sidelines.
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Yankees projected Opening Day lineup if Giancarlo Stanton misses time
Batting Order | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
1 | Jasson Dominguez | LF |
2 | Aaron Judge | RF |
3 | Cody Bellinger | CF |
4 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B |
5 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | 2B |
6 | Austin Wells | C |
7 | Anthony Volpe | SS |
8 | Ben Rice | DH |
9 | DJ LeMahieu | 3B |
The Yankees have a couple of different ways that they can go about replacing Stanton in the lineup. One avenue would be to prioritize defense by inserting Trent Grisham into the outfield and using Jasson Dominguez, a player who still looks uncomfortable in left field, at DH. The other avenue would be to insert a guy like Ben Rice into the DH spot and hope he breaks out.
Rice struggled in his first MLB action last season, slashing .171/.264/.349 with seven home runs and 23 RBI in 50 games played, but he did have a .968 OPS in 79 minor league appearances and, as depressing as this might be to admit, he has the most upside of potential Stanton replacements.
The fact of the matter is that Stanton is arguably their second-best hitter with Soto now gone. He's had trouble staying healthy, obviously, but he hit 27 home runs in just 114 regular season games in 2024, and was as good as any Yankees player in October.
As fun as it'd be to see his replacement thrive, the Yankees are going to need guys like Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, and even Aaron Judge to kick their games up a notch without Stanton. Those are the big bats in the lineup, and if Stanton is sidelined, the pressure is on for them to perform like the big sluggers they're supposed to be.