Giancarlo Stanton has been sidelined once again.
It's not even March yet, and the Yankees have already been dealt a few costly injury blows. The team announced Tuesday that Luis Severino will have to undergo Tommy John surgery, and then Aaron Boone revealed Wednesday that Stanton's status for Opening Day is in doubt after he suffered a calf strain.
Gregg Giannotti and Jerry Recco (filling in for Boomer Esiason) kicked off their Thursday show with reactions to the latest Stanton injury. Giannotti thinks the slugger's issues are quite "alarming."
"For this to happen again, something is wrong," said Giannotti. "I know that the Yankees changed a lot of things with their training staff. They brought in training geniuses and all sorts of guys, and this was not supposed to happen again. And maybe this is just a little blip on the radar for Giancarlo Stanton and the Yankees and he comes back and still has a great year, but this is as alarming as it gets, and its fresh off the Severino news the day before."
The Yankees suffered an avalanche of injuries in 2019, and Stanton was not immune from those ailments. The former MVP spent a lengthy amount of time on the injured list with a knee strain and with a bicep strain. He was able to return for the very end of the regular season and for the postseason, but he was largely ineffective.
Stanton couldn't play in the final two games of the American League Championship Series against the Astros because he picked up another muscle strain, this time in his quad. The 30-year-old is a muscular, powerful hitter when he's at full health, but these various strains have sidetracked his career over the last year.
Recco noted that some Yankees fans were laughing in response to the injury news, just because it's all so predictable.
"I think it's an expected comedy, if you will. If you're wondering why people are laughing. I don't think it's anything more than that they pretty much expect him to get hurt."
Giannotti had an interesting idea of another athlete who could possibly step in and help Stanton get over these injury problems.
"He needs to go to Tom Brady, and that Alex Guerrero, because the thing that Tom Brady talks about that has kept him in shape and on the field well into his 40s is pliability. And Tom Brady doesn't pull muscles! … I would go straight to him. I'll be honest with you, Tom Brady and Alex Guerrero might even see this and reach out to him. This is insanity!"
Click on the audio player above to listen to the full opening from Thursday's morning show.
