In his second full season with the New York Yankees, Giancarlo Stanton has battled with a slew of injuries. Now, it’s looking like the slugger is healthy and ready to go.
This season, the 2016 NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton has left a sour taste in New York Yankees fans mouths. Having only managed to play in nine games this season, Stanton has battled a number of injuries which have kept him sidelined alongside a record number of injured teammates.
This past week, however, Stanton began to ramp up activity by taking batting practice, running arcs, and participating in defensive drills according to Randy Miller of NJ.COM. While the Yanks aren’t giving a definitive timetable on Stanton’s return, they are reporting that the slugger will face live pitching this coming week, an indication that a return is imminent.
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It’s hard to imagine just how big of an impact Stanton can have on the Bronx Bombers as they look to secure their third consecutive playoff berth and first division title since 2012. However, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Stanton has “the has the first (120.6 mph) and tied for second (118.9 mph) hardest hit fair balls of 2019.”
With this type of information, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that, if healthy, Stanton could have mashed a solid 50+ home runs this season.
The return of a healthy Stanton could certainly help the New York Yankees in their quest to their 28th World Series title, first in a decade. The only question is, what roster moves will the Yanks have to make in order to make room for the slugger?
One thing’s for sure, with Giancarlo Stanton’s potential for power and explosive bat, if healthy, he’ll most certainly own a place in the Yankees’ playoff roster. The only hope is that he gives an Alex Rodriguez-esque performance circa1999.
Can he do it? For his sake and sanity, he better hope he can.