Top-heavy Yankees lineup worryingly thin after Giancarlo Stanton injur

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Brian Cashman surely received no politene s points when he startled us all back at the GM Meetings in November . GMs generally dont make negative predictions about their players, especially marquee players, but fairly, Cashman turned out to be correct. Stantons pain . And, say what you want about Stanton and even his own GM obviously did! his absence with hamstring trouble hurts them as much as it does him. Maybe he isnt the guy who once hit 59 home runs, but hes inarguably the third of three huge threats in the star-infused lineup thats scored more runs than all but the Orioles and Dodgers. Hes also the active home run leader with 420 and was on pace to hit 37 in 2024. Giancarlo Stanton is now sidelined from the Yankees lineup with a hamstring injury. USA TODAY Sports Fans and even his own front office can criticize Stanton, and do, but he obviously (Also to his credit, wallop, whiff or even injury Stanton is invariably a stand-up guy). They trash him, but now they all may learn how much theyll mi s him. Hes been that force that you want in the middle, manager Aaron Boone said. Hes been that threat every day. Putting aside that Boone is preternaturally more diplomatic than almost anyone (not Cheick Diallo Jersey just Cashman), hes right. The lineup with Stanton looks ominous. Without him, not so much. More From Jon Heyman The Yankees termed Stantons hamstring strain mild after an MRI exam but officially declined to provide a timetable. In the first game without him, played against the Braves in Atlanta-style weather (that is to say muggy and crappy) before a sellout crowd at the Stadium, . That can happen against ace Max Fried. But the lineup Boone presumably wrote seems to hit a wall somewhere around that middle now, at least based on current stats. Which is why the Yankees . While it doesnt look great that he was DFAed by the practically homele s As, he also looks like he can help. Boone said Davis could be part of a platoon, which suggested hed be playing first base, but third base could use a boost, too. The ex-Met Davis was said by a friend to be fired up by the trade to the Yankees, but thats also his nature. Hes perpetually fired up. See Also The Yankees were hoping not to have to worry about position players at the deadline, and to concentrate on a pen thats continually in transition. But with injuries to Anthony Rizzo and now Stanton, and the struggles of the bottom half of the order, they have little choice now. Gleyber Torres, in the midst a nightmare season, batted fifth Sunday. Two-time batting champion DJ LeMahieu, who has zero extra-base hits since returning from his latest foot i sue (.185 slugging percentage), was sixth. was next, followed by catcher Jose Trevino, whos having a nice season, and Trent Grisham, whos hitting .136 after two hits Sunday. The problem is when you take out your five- and six-hole hitters, you end up replacing them with down-in-the-order guys, one AL scout said. So your new five- and six-hole hitters are Torres and LeMahieu and they both [are struggling] now. Their lineup looks like the top four can get it done and thats it. And wait til Judge goes down. (Me: Judge is not only perfectly healthy, hes easily the AL MVP so far.) Brian Cashman had predicted before the season that Giancarlo Stanton would get hurt. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post The Yankees have a superb record and glo sy team stats, but lets face it, this team is top-heavy. And Stantons absence makes them that much more top-heavy. Of course, its a ble sing the Yankees have the top two MVP candidates (or 1 and 3 if you prefer Gunnar Henderson to Juan Soto). But Stantons injury is the latest reminder of how dependent they are on two megastars. Together Aaron Judge and Soto accounted for 57 percent of the home runs in Sundays lineup, and 48 percent of the RBIs. And even Soto is so-so the past few days. Go beyond the box score with the Bombers Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+. Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! Regarding Stantons injury, Boone sounded rather hopeful (hes naturally hopeful, too!). Another Yankees person (not Cashman) opined it isnt encouraging that Stantons injury occurred while going three-quarters speed on a scoring play (wisely, he plays it carefully based on history). As for Cashman, he hasnt weighed in yet. What he said back in November, which required Cashman to give an explanation to Stantons agent Joel Wolfe, was this: Im not going to tell you hes going to play every game next year because hes not. Hes going to wind up getting hurt again more likely than not because it seems to be part of his game. Before Stanton revealed that doctors are predicting four weeks out for him, Boone declined to give a timetable for Stanton, which seems prudent considering how often teams underestimate the pain of players. Well, maybe not Cashman, whos unfortunately batting 1.000 here. Deandre Ayton Jersey