Yankees fans, apparently, aren’t the only ones frustrated with Giancarlo Stanton’s struggles to stay healthy over the years, as evidenced by recent comments made by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.
Since joining New York via trade in 2017, Stanton, 34, has missed over 36% of his team’s games because of injury, including missing 61 in ’23. On Monday, Cashman, who’s been with the club since 1998, spoke with the media about the 15-year veteran’s woes, and offered candid remarks about Stanton being “injury-prone.”
“We’ve gotta get Stanton up and running again,” Cashman said during the GM Meetings in Arizona, per the New York Daily News. “He’s injury-prone. We all have lived and known that, but he’s never not hit when he’s playing, and this year is the first time that that’s happened.”
Cashman continued his brutal honesty by sharing the team’s expectation that Stanton will eventually get injured at some point each season. The Yankees GM also harped again on Stanton’s down year, which saw the former National League MVP log 24 home runs in 101 games while slashing a paltry .191/.275/.420.
“We try to limit the time he’s down,” Cashman said. “But I’m not gonna tell you he’s gonna play every game next year because he’s not. He’s going to wind up getting hurt again more likely than not because it seems to be part of his game. But I know that when he’s right and healthy—other than this past year—the guy’s a great hitter and has been for a long time.””
With Stanton’s contract set to expire after the 2027 season, it remains to be seen how long the five-time All-Star continues playing in the Big Apple.
If Cashman’s comments are any indication, though, Stanton could need a big return to form in 2024 in order to stay in the good graces of Yankees brass. In his six years in New York, Stanton has batted .243/.328/.484 with 135 home runs.
