The New York Yankees have sprinted out to baseball’s best offensive start despite losing some critical contributors.
Chiefly, the team lost superstar slugger Juan Soto to the crosstown rival New York Mets this past winter, but that doesn’t seem to have fazed the batting order. The Yankees lead all teams in homers, RBI, on-base percentage and more.
Franchise slugger Aaron Judge deserves most of the credit for that success, while veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has contributed mightily as well. And a slew of surprises, including Trent Grisham, Austin Wells and Ben Rice, are adding significant power.
But with so many hot bats, the Yankees face a tough decision on veteran designated Giancarlo Stanton as he works his way back from injury.
“(The) Yankees don’t have room for Giancarlo Stanton to play regularly,” Zachary Rotman wrote for FanSided. “Even without Stanton, the Yankees have more bats than spots right now. … This is ultimately a good problem for the Yankees to have, but the same can’t exactly be said for Stanton, who would presumably love to play as much as he can.”
After hitting the injured list with elbow problems to start the season, Stanton has been working to return to the team and could be ready before June. But the Yankees’ options for getting his bat back into the lineup are limited.
He almost certainly can’t play a defensive position after taking on an exclusive designated hitter role for all of last year. And logjams throughout the roster mean that Rice is difficult to slot in on defense without learning a new position, which is a difficult ask.
Ultimately, it could mean Stanton sits on the bench on a regular basis, which would be a harsh move for a $325 million player.
“The Yankees won’t bench Stanton permanently, but the odds of him playing regularly, given the team’s logjam, are slim to none,” Rotman projected.
If this situation persists with Stanton back to healthy form, it’s possible that the Yankees will be looking for trade suitors.
