Yankees fans will just about fall to pieces after hearing these injury updates on stars Giancarlo Stanton and Carlos Rodon.
There’s no good way to deliver bad injury news, so out with it: the New York Yankees may be without Giancarlo Stanton for the next six weeks or longer, and Carlos Rodon recently had to undergo some additional tests on his back.
That’s two key players potentially being added to the Yankees injury list early in the 2023 season. Not looking good, New York.
For Giancarlo Stanton, this is hardly his first injury rodeo. Stanton suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain while running the bases in Saturday’s game against the Twins, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters that Stanton is looking at a six-week absence at least.
Stanton has endured ten total injury list stints since the start of 2019 — most of which were leg-related injuries — so this latest update shouldn’t be a total surprise.
Fans still have a right to be disappointed after Stanton came out swinging with four homers (trailing only Aaron Judge) and posted a stat line of .269/.296/.558.
Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Rodon could both be out for an extended period
As for ace Carlos Rodon, Boone told reporters that the left-hander’s back was still “barking,” and the team is awaiting his most recent test results.
Rodon had been dealing with a mild forearm strain he suffered this past spring training which caused him to be placed on the IL on Opening Day. After his arm seemingly healed, his back started giving him problems, as was evident in a bullpen session on Monday.
That six-year, $162 million deal hasn’t started to pay off yet and may not start to until May, an early estimate as to when Rodon might take the mound.
The Yankees’ marquee addition of the offseason will just have to delay his 2023 debut a few weeks longer. And Stanton, who primarily played DH this season, will also be sitting on the bench as he watches Boone try to fill his absence using a rotation of different players.
It’s going to be a lot of waiting for Yankees fans who were excited to see Rodon’s first pitch in the pinstripes and Stanton’s awe-worthy slugging power. Hopefully, the wait will be worth it.