Giancarlo Stanton needs to step aside if he's not 100%, WFAN's Boomer Esiason said Tuesday.
The Yankees slugger strained his right quadriceps running out an infield single in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, which forced him to miss Game 2. If the Yankees decide to replace him on the ALCS roster, Stanton would be out for the rest of the postseason.
Manager Aaron Boone described it Monday as "a sensitive decision, a tough decision." The Yankees and Astros meet in Game 3 on Tuesday in the Bronx.
"I just need to know what the hell they're doing with Giancarlo Stanton," Esiason said on the "Boomer and Gio" show. "This is all of a sudden becoming an issue, and it's a sensitive issue, and I don't know why Aaron Boone would say that yesterday. And I can't even believe that here we are on the cusp of Game 3 and we're talking about a sensitive issue for a player who has not even really been a part of this team. To me, it's like Stanton's got to be honest: 'I can go,' meaning, 'I can run, I can play the field if you need me to play the field, and if I pinch-hit and I hit a dribbler to third base, I can leg it out.'
"If you cannot leg that play out, then you should not be in uniform and you should not be playing and you should not be costing your team a roster spot."
Gregg Giannotti, Esiason's co-host, said it's the nature of competitive, professional athletes to try to play through pain and that Stanton might feel even more determined after knee, biceps, shoulder and calf injuries limited him to just 18 games in the regular season.
"You've got to remember this season for Giancarlo Stanton, he's going to want to play through this thing," Giannotti said. " ... If you're asking him to be honest, you know — the history of athletes and wanting to be there for their team and making sure that he's not letting anybody down."
Gio said he believes the Yankees have to decide about Stanton before Game 4.
"(Boone) thinks it might be sensitive because Giancarlo Stanton is this big superstar and not having him around is something that feels weird," Giannotti said. "But he hasn't been around the entire year and the Yankees have done what they've done."
Added Esiason: "It's not about you making it to the World Series. It's about the Yankees making it to the World Series. It's about the name on the front of the jersey, not the number on the back of the jersey."
To listen to the open from Tuesday's "Boomer and Gio" show, click on the audio player above.
