In recent years, MLB has certainly seen its fair share of superstar players whose careers have faced career ruin thanks to chronic injuries, and New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton is the latest example. Jacob deGrom, who won two consecutive National League Cy Young Awards in 2018 and 2019, has made an average of 14 starts per season ever since. Mike Trout, who had three American League MVPs and almost 1,400 hits by age 28, has been a complete shell of himself over the past few years. Stanton, who in 2017 hit 59 homers en route to the NL MVP, has missed almost half of his potential games since winning that MVP.
That includes a fair few in the 2026 season as well (78 to be exact). The 35-year-old’s latest injury, which is a calf strain that he re-injured during recovery, will likely cost him the majority of New York’s remaining games. After his first season with the Yankees in 2018, Stanton has proceeded to miss over 56% of New York’s games from 2019 to the present. In that span, his slash line is a respectable (though not great) .239/.320/.486, and he’s averaged just 19 home runs and 65 hits per season.
These numbers aren’t bad on paper, but considering that the Yankees thought they were getting a surefire HOFer, Stanton’s career in New York sure seems like a disappointment. This will ring especially true if the Yankees aren’t able to get over the top and win a title before Stanton calls it quits.
Giancarlo Stanton is On Borrowed Time with the Yankees
It’s About Time
Unfortunately, Stanton has been weighing the Yankees down for quite a while. Outside of his contributions in the postseason, particularly in 2020 and 2024, he really has not produced much value at all, accumulating a brWAR of just 11.2 in nine seasons as a Yankee. With at least one more year guaranteed on his contract, there isn’t much reason to believe that he’ll be able to produce, let alone play at all, at least enough to be worth the $22 million that the Yankees owe him in 2027.
Aaron Boone gives an update on Giancarlo Stanton:
“He’s in his running progression now. I don’t have a timeline…but feel like he’s moving in a good direction. I just don’t know if that’s a couple weeks from now, a few weeks from now…but he’s getting much closer.” pic.twitter.com/YVK2HTNwUj
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) July 22, 2026
If Stanton proved himself to be healthy and able to pull his weight in 2026, then perhaps the case could be made to let him keep the designated hitter spot for next season. But if the Yankees are being honest with themselves, this year is the last one where they’ll have room at all for Stanton in the lineup.
Next season, expect at least Jasson Dominguez or Spencer Jones to be in the lineup full-time. They also have a couple of starters hitting free agency, including Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ryan McMahon and Trent Grisham, so also expect the Yankees to re-sign or replace one or even all three of them as well. This leaves barely any room for Stanton, and on top of that there is the issue of Aaron Judge and his declining health. Obviously, Judge is not as injury-prone as Stanton, but the Yankees will certainly want to get their captain off his feet and in the DH spot more and more as he keeps getting older.
Not Over Yet for Stanton
It’s very unlikely that the Yankees buy out Stanton’s contract, though, mostly because of his presence in the clubhouse and the respect that ownership and the players have for him as opposed to his remaining baseball skills. Of course, there is always the possibility that Stanton plays enough games over the next year or two and reaches 500 home runs; but, sitting on 456 with no return to the field in sight, Cooperstown isn’t looking likely for Giancarlo Stanton. At this point in his career, with his prime behind him and his body failing him constantly, both he and the Yankees are probably just hoping that he won’t leave the Bronx without a World Series ring.
Main Photo Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
