Is Yankees Slugger On Track To Being 'Feared' Again?

Remember back in November when New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that they did not expect slugger Giancarlo Stanton to play every game in 2024 because he was “going to wind up getting hurt again?”

Well, on Thursday Cashman talked about Stanton’s offseason during a press conference introducing pitcher Marcus Stroman. Turns out he’s quite happy with how things are going.

He said that Stanton is "in a really good place" when it comes to diet and conditioning as he tries to bounce back from a 2023 in which he batted just .191 in 101 games, along with 24 home runs and 60 RBI.

Based on Stanton’s past few seasons, Cashman was pointing out the trend lines since Stanton had an incredible debut season with the Yankees in 2018, when he hit 38 home runs and drove in 100 runs in 158 games.

Since then Stanton has played in 391 out of 708 games due to a myriad of injuries, including a knee injury in 2019, a hamstring injury in 2020 and a quadriceps injury in 2021. Last season he didn’t suffer major injury but had the worst batting average of his career.

Stanton has been one of the most dangerous hitters in the game. He’s a lifetime .259 hitter with 402 home runs and 1,031 RBI. He’s made five All-Star teams, won the 2017 National League MVP and led the Majors in home runs that season with 59. He also led the National League in home runs with 37 in 2014.

Cashman said that he’s looking forward to getting that type of player in 2024.

"He's always been one of the most feared hitters in the game,” Cashman said. “He's looking forward to getting back to that."

Yankees pitchers and catchers are set to report to Tampa for Spring Training on Feb. 15, while the first workout with all players is set for Feb. 20.