ST. PETERSBURG – Giancarlo Stanton has no interest in looking back, nor in detailing the play-by-play of his return from a series of calf injuries that wiped out everything after late April.
For the Yankees’ slugger, the only thing that matters is being ready for a moment now.
“If there’s any time to erase a bad year, it’s in October,” Stanton said. “It’s the biggest opportunity to show out for the city and do what we can do.”
Stanton knows that better than most. Just two years ago, his seven postseason home runs silenced critics after an injury-marred regular season, earning MVP honors in the American League Championship Series against the Guardians as he led the Yankees to a pennant.
“I’m ready to go, however they need me,” Stanton said. “It’s good to be here with the guys and to be able to produce.”
Though included on the 26-man roster for the AL Wild Card Series against the Red Sox, Stanton never made it out of the dugout. Yankees manager Aaron Boone considered using Stanton to pinch-hit for Spencer Jones in the seventh inning of Game 1, but allowed Jones to take a left-on-left at-bat.
Boone wasn’t tempted to put Stanton in once the games got lopsided, either.
Asked if he would have preferred to take an at-bat in the Wild Card round, Stanton replied, “I’d prefer to get two wins and be here now.”
With Aaron Judge also attempting to be activated for this round, it’s unclear whether the Yankees have the flexibility to carry both Judge and Stanton, especially if they decide to take 11 or 12 pitchers.
Stanton sustained a right calf strain running the bases on April 24 in Houston, aggravated it in June, then injured his left calf while running the bases in August.
“I think a lot of people probably felt like that was the end of the road for him getting back,” Boone said. “But credit to him that he never stopped. He’s just kind of had his head down along the way. With his track record, I’ll take his presence and ability to handle situations like this.”
Despite the injuries, Stanton has been consistently hitting behind the scenes, often against the Trajekt device.
“I’m just trying to win a championship now,” Stanton said. “We’ve got to worry about now. That’s what’s most important. And I’ve got to make sure I’m ready for whatever role I can be ready for.”
Forecast: Stormy
Ryan Weathers is likely to be included on the Yankees’ 26-man ALDS roster, supplying another big arm to the club’s bullpen.
Weathers has been recovering well from a left flexor strain sustained in late August, including a live batting practice session at Yankee Stadium in which he touched 96 mph while facing Stanton, José Caballero and Trent Grisham.
“The [velocity] was in a really good spot, and I felt really good,” Weathers said. “I needed that second live [session], just to sharpen up a little bit more.”
Boone said the Yankees plan to discuss the makeup of their bullpen after Friday’s workout.
“In my mind, I kind of have what I’m thinking, but I want to let everyone have their voice,” Boone said.
Tarmac time
Having earned an off-day by sweeping the Red Sox in two games, the Yankees expected a routine flight that would get them to Tampa in time for dinner.
That didn’t happen.
A hydraulic issue with their Delta charter kept them grounded at Westchester County Airport for more than three hours Thursday, and when a tall enough ladder to repair the plane couldn’t be located, the team took a bus to LaGuardia Airport to board another jet.
“That’s life sometimes,” Boone said. “It throws you a wrinkle, and we handled it.”
How did they pass the time?
“Just hung out, cards, conversations, ribbing each other – doomscrolling,” said Gerrit Cole, who will start Saturday’s Game 1.
Weathers said most of the bullpen killed time by playing Rocket League and Mario Kart on Nintendo Switch. Asked who the most agitated Yankee was, Weathers pointed to Paul Blackburn.
“I’ve never seen Paul that rattled,” Weathers said. “He was a grumpy guy yesterday. It was funny.”
Eventually, most of the plane tuned in for the Braves and Phillies. A few eyes were on the Browns and Steelers, too.
“We had some fun with the flight attendants, telling them, ‘Let’s step it up a little bit. Let’s get it going,’” Boone said.
As for that scrumptious Tampa dinner they envisioned? It turned out to be pizzas delivered to the LaGuardia tarmac. The second plane finally took off around 9:30 p.m., landing in Tampa just before midnight.
“Hey, first world problems,” Boone said. “People have got to deal with a lot worse stuff than we dealt with yesterday.”