It has become reflex among fans to cringe whenever they see a status update on an injured player, because over the past year-plus the Yankees have endured a record amount of injuries. Today, while we did get some concerning news about Zack Britton, we also got positive news about Giancarlo Stanton and James Paxton.
Stanton takes BP
Back on February 26 it was reported that Stanton had a Grade 1 right calf strain and was questionable for opening day. A few days later, Cashman made it seem even more unlikely that Stanton will suit up on March 26 in Baltimore, but Boone has been optimistic all along that this injury won’t sideline Stanton for too long.
Today, Giancarlo took live BP on the field in Tampa. He faced Adam Ottavino and Zack Britton, the later of which he hit an opposite field dinger off.
It is high! It is far! It is gone!
Giancarlo Stanton with an opposite-field homer off Zack Britton: pic.twitter.com/jCNTD0NYCB
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 11, 2020
Since the start of 2019, Stanton has missed time with a strained left biceps, strained left shoulder, strained left calf, strained right PCL, strained right quad, and now strained right calf. The quad injury caused him to come out of the ALCS lineup last October.
As I said on episode #410 of The Bronx Pinstripes Show (Subscribe + Download + Listen + Rate + Review + Repeat), these are supposed to be the good years of Stanton. The Yankees acquired the reigning NL MVP wile taking on 10-years of his salary. Anytime you lock yourself into a long-term deal, you assume the later years won’t go in your favor. So far through two-plus of Stanton it hasn’t been in the team’s favor.
Paxton feels good
Feeling good is better than feeling bad, right?
James Paxton said that today was the first time he had thrown since December. Everything felt good and he believes mid-May would be his best case scenario to pitch in an @mlb game.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 11, 2020
Here’s the timeline on the Paxton injury:
- Sep. 27, 2019 – Paxton pulled after 1 inning in Texas.
- First week of Oct. 2019 – Received treatment on his back in preparation for the playoffs. Paxton started ALDS Game 1, and ALCS Games 2 & 5.
- Mid-to-late Dec. 2019 – Paxton alerted the Yankees that he was still experiencing discomfort.
- February 5, 2020 – microscopic lumbar discectomy with removal of a peridiscal cyst (a.k.a. surgery).
The initial timeline on Paxton’s recovery was 3-4 months, which meant mid-May was the plan. Because I’m pessimistic and because the Yankees don’t exactly have a stellar reputation when it comes to injury management, I told myself that if Paxton threw a pitch on a major league mound in June, that would be a win. So far it seems like that will happen.
