NEW YORK — After slugging his first home run of the season this week, Giancarlo Stanton said that there was no time to worry about what his numbers might look like at the end of the year, and that his focus had to be on remaining in the lineup to
NEW YORK — After slugging his first home run of the season this week, Giancarlo Stanton said that there was no time to worry about what his numbers might look like at the end of the year, and that his focus had to be on remaining in the lineup to provide production every night.
Having missed Stanton’s presence for 68 games already this season, the Yankees are crossing their fingers that the slugger is not headed for another lengthy absence. Stanton was removed from Tuesday’s 4-3 win over the Blue Jays with what was announced as a right knee contusion, and he has been sent for an MRI.
“At this point, I’m hoping [for a] bone bruise,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I think tomorrow will be a better indicator. When he comes in, we’ll look at the swelling and evaluate it better then.”
Stanton told Boone that he sustained the injury while running the bases in the bottom of the first inning. Stanton reached on a first-inning single, then was tagged out at third base on the back end of a double play as he dove headfirst into the bag.
Replays showed that Stanton banged his knee onto the infield dirt, but he remained in the game to play the outfield in the second and third innings. Brett Gardner replaced Stanton for the top of the fourth inning.
“He had alerted me, ‘Maybe get Gardy going,'” Boone said. “Then after he moved around in the outfield there, he felt like [coming out] was the right thing to do.”
Stanton, who hit his first homer of the season in Monday’s 10-8 win over Toronto, has been limited to nine games by injury.
He landed on the injured list after sustaining a left biceps tear on March 31, then endured a left shoulder strain and a left calf strain before rejoining the Yankees on June 18.
“Eventually he’ll get into a good place if we’re able to avoid a serious injury here,” Boone said. “I’m not worried about it, because there is plenty of time to start playing and get in that rhythm that we feel like he’s starting to get into.”
If necessary, Clint Frazier or Mike Tauchman would figure to be the most likely reinforcements to be summoned from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Yankees will carry a 26th player for their upcoming London trip, and that is likely to be a pitcher, though Boone has said the club will have one or two extra non-roster players also travel in the event of injury.
Bryan Hoch has covered the Yankees for MLB.com since 2007. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and Facebook.