Confirmed deal : Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton injury could mean opportunity for roster bubble bats

 

 

Yankees manager Aaron Boone raved about non-roster invitee Dominic Smith after the club’s first full squad workout of the spring on Monday.

“The guy has been a really good hitter throughout his career, a pro hitter,” Boone said. “I know he feels good about where he is. He’s in good shape. We’ll even probably try and get him out in the outfield a little bit so we’ll just see.”

Boone’s praise came with a caveat, though.

 

 

The reality is probably something has to happen to open up a lane there,” Boone said. “But he’s here because we know if that lane does open up, we’ve got a quality hitter, quality person that you can add in the mix real easy.”

That something could be Giancarlo Stanton’s injured elbows.

Stanton is experiencing something akin to tennis elbow on both of his arms, an injury that traces back to the second half of this past season into the playoffs. He’s behind schedule, telling reporters at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Monday that he hasn’t swung a bat in three to four weeks due to “very high” levels of pain

 

Clearly it didn’t hinder Stanton in October. He erupted for another vintage playoff Stanton tear, helping to carry the Yankees all the way to the World Series. Now, the Yankees want to play it safe and take his progression slowly as he gets treatment to limit the discomfort.

It’s far too early to jump to any conclusions regarding Opening Day and a possible injured list stint for Stanton, but Boone’s answer to a question about the slugger’s readiness for the beginning of the regular season. wasn’t promising.

“I don’t know,” Boone said. ”We’ll see. It’s tough to say. I’m not going to put any timeline on it. We’re just going to be smart with it and kind of listen to it a little bit.”