Can Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton climb back from rock-bottom?

TAMPA, Fla. – It only takes one glance to notice that Giancarlo Stanton is much thinner this spring than he was when the New York Yankees' 2023 season unceremoniously ended.

Stanton prefers not to discuss the change. Not that he wasn't in good shape before. He's been building muscle since he made his major league debut 14 years ago. He always looked more like a tight end than a baseball player. He always does.

“He’s robbed, bro,” Aaron Judge said. “It's crazy.”

Stanton emphasized that he changes his routine each offseason, adapting and reacting to the failures or successes of the previous year. But 2023 was different: it was the lowest.

Last season bordered on embarrassing, prompting his latest reevaluation. Now 34, Stanton concluded that carrying less weight would help him get through the upcoming season healthy. After last year, when even running the bases felt like a struggle at times, Stanton focused on improving his mobility, adding explosiveness, becoming more of a spark on the diamond.

Stanton also made a small change in the batter's box. He moved his hands slightly closer to his body to stay more on the inside pitches.

“It’s a game of millimeters,” Stanton said, “so light is huge in some ways.”

The question is: will everything work?

“You have to be willing to make changes,” Stanton said, “and have confidence in the direction you’re taking when you do.”

It's about finding a detour. Stanton, who arrived in the Bronx after his best and healthiest season, a National League MVP campaign with the Miami Marlins in 2017, played in more than 110 games in just two of his six years in New York. He has landed on the injured list in each of the last five seasons, and eight times in total. He missed time with injuries to his biceps, knees, quads, hamstring and calves. In 2022, Achilles tendonitis derailed his All-Star season after he hit 24 home runs with an .835 OPS in 76 first-half games.

The 2023 season, however, was the worst of his career.

Stanton missed nearly two months with a hamstring strain. When he played, it was ugly. He posted career lows in batting average (.191), on-base percentage (.275) and slugging percentage (.420). Not only did he look uncomfortable running the bases, but he could barely play the outfield in September.

In November, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman offered a blunt assessment during a testy scrum with reporters, saying that Stanton “is going to end up getting hurt again more likely than not because that seems to be part of his game”.

This prompted a public backlash from Stanton's agent, Joel Wolfe. “I think this is a good reminder for all free agents who are considering signing with New York, both overseas and domestically,” Wolfe said in a statement to The Athletic while also making a reference to thinly veiled to another of his clients, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, “that to play for this team, you have to be made of Teflon, both mentally and physically, because you can never let your guard down, even in the offseason. “

Cashman and Stanton said the episode was behind them. And Cashman's harsh assessment didn't change that fact: Stanton isn't going anywhere.

Stanton has four years and $128 million guaranteed on his contract. The Yankees will have to pay $98 million – the Marlins will pay the rest. Getting that money off payroll by dealing with Stanton is nearly impossible at this point. Instead, the Yankees made offseason moves to deepen their roster and reduce the impact should Stanton have another disastrous season.

Juan Soto was acquired to be the one-time partner for Judge that Stanton has failed to be of late. Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham – as well as Soto – were added to the outfield rotation. The Yankees hope Stanton can rotate the outfield twice a week, giving Soto and Judge a chance to take his usual spot at DH. But the Yankees don't need to rely on that to win games. A productive Stanton season is gravy.

“First and foremost, hopefully, health,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said when asked what he thought Stanton's slimmer frame could produce. “But definitely moving around, being more athletic, being more on the bases. A more realistic option on the field. All those things.”

Stanton got off to a slow start in Grapefruit League play, going 1 for 15 with one walk in six games. Since then, he has recorded three multi-hit games and hit his first home run in spring training on Saturday.

“He looks really good to me for what he’s trying to do up there,” hitting coach James Rowson said earlier this month. “He has a plan on what he wants to do. It's not necessarily about the results right now. It's more about the process. And his process is really good. He's been really good in the cage .

“His preparation to come here every day has been incredible. Like something I've never seen before.”

Ultimately, it comes down to where Stanton is this summer and, the Yankees hope, when his team returns in October after missing the playoffs in 2023. Is he on the injured list? On the bench? In the lineup every day, enjoying a bounce-back season?

Stanton looks different. It won't matter if the results are the same.

“I want to help us win a championship,” Stanton said. “Obviously, if I produce as I can, we’ll be in a good position to do that, and that’s my job.”