Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge were supposed to be the massive 1-2 punch in the middle of the lineup that made the Yankees’ offense the most feared in the game when Stanton arrived from Miami prior to the 2018 season.
Injuries and then some diminished skill have prevented that from happening as much as the Yankees had hoped and now Juan Soto has replaced Stanton as Judge’s top sidekick.
But that doesn’t mean Stanton has thrown in the towel and the 34-year-old, in his 15th MLB season, acknowledged this is no ordinary spring training.
Not after the worst season of his career, when Stanton hit just .191 with a .695 OPS and was limited to 101 games in another injury-marred year.
“This is big,” Stanton said of how he performs in Grapefruit League games this spring. “Not the results, necessarily, but in terms of how I feel and the adjustments I’m making in the cage with seeing the ball, timing and everything.”
But he still entered Sunday’s 9-8 win over Atlanta at George M. Steinbrenner Field just 1-for-15 on the spring.
Sunday provided some more signs of life, first with a blistering double to right-center in the bottom of the second that measured 110 mph.
Stanton followed with a deep fly out to right in his next at-bat, drew a four-pitch walk in his third plate appearance and finished the day with a single to left that also topped 100 mph.
“It was good to get some balls on the barrel,” Stanton said. “It’s not everything. But it’s rewarding to go out there and do something decent.”
Stanton is trying to find results after remaking his body and his swing in the offseason.
“I feel great,” Stanton said. “The swing is an interesting one. I’m back to being out there every day and I’m able to stay on my feet and legs.”
It’s about “balance,” according to Stanton.
“I’m trying to be more grounded, as opposed to trying to do too much,” Stanton said.
And while scouts were hesitant to place too much importance on how the slugger has looked so far this spring — including on Sunday — two who were in attendance Sunday both noted he did look sturdier at the plate than in previous seasons.
“He’s been through so much physically with the injuries, but he seemed more comfortable at the plate than at points in other seasons recently,” one American League scout said. “Look, it’s about him staying healthy and I think we’re all skeptical about that. But there’s only a handful of guys that can hit 110 [mph] off the bat and he’s one of them. He’s still got that.”
It just hasn’t shown up on the field much lately, whether it comes to the dismal average or his barrel rate of 15.7 percent a year ago, which matched a career-low.
With the addition of Soto to the lineup — and with everyone still in one piece in the Yankees’ offense — Stanton was the No. 6 hitter Sunday.
Aaron Boone said that lineup was one he would consider for the regular season, meaning Stanton could very well be in the bottom half more often than not, with fellow sluggers like Soto, Judge and Anthony Rizzo, as well as DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres, ahead of him.
At this point, Stanton isn’t too concerned with where he sits in the batting order or why he struggled so badly in 2023.
“There is no past,” Stanton said. “There’s just now.”
And the Yankees have no choice but to hope he can rediscover at least some of his former greatness.
“He’s a former MVP,” Judge said of Stanton. “He’s gonna give you 30-plus homers and 100 RBIs when he’s in the middle of the lineup. He’s smart, he’s calculated, he’s seen so many different pitchers, so many situations, no moment is too big for him. When you get a guy like that, that’s healthy and swinging the bat well, the depth of the lineup doesn’t end.”
