NEW YORK — Giancarlo Stanton launched a booming drive off the left field wall of Yankee Stadium in the seventh inning of Saturday afternoon’s 6-1 win over the Twins, the kind of blast that had almost everyone in the stadium expecting a home run: even the sound engineer who set off a celebratory siren.
Stanton dropped his bat and began a trot toward first base when Stanton realized his drive from the Twins’ Jorge Alcala had the speed, but not the depth, to hit the visitors’ bullpen. Stanton ran harder and felt his left hamstring grab as he pulled into second base with a double.
Stanton pointed to the bench, called for a pinch runner, and sullenly told manager Aaron Boone he wouldn’t be playing for a while. That happened Sunday afternoon when the Bombers put the outfielder/designated hitter on the 10-day injured list.
Stanton will undergo an MRI scan on Sunday to determine the severity of the strain.
“He moved well after the game but he definitely felt like it was an IL [situation]before he even gets the MRI,” Boone said before the final of a four-game set with the Twins.
Stanton had been one of the Yanks’ most prolific hitters in the early days, cutting .269/.296/.558 (14-for-52) with three doubles, four homers and 11 RBIs. He reached base in 12 of 13 games and scored safely in 11 of those.
“There’s no good time for this,” Boone said. “I know he’s really frustrated. But it’s an opportunity for people we trust. We can get together and bring some other people back over here over the next few days and weeks. We have to make arrangements.”
In a similar move, the Yankees brought back infielder Oswald Peraza from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Peraza, 22, competed with Anthony Volpe for the first shortstop job this spring and is ranked as the club’s No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Peraza’s stay in the Bronx may be brief. Third baseman Josh Donaldson is due to play in a minor league rehab game for Double-A Somerset on Tuesday and he could be activated on Wednesday if all goes well. Outfielder Harrison Bader is also close to a minor league rehab trip that could take place this week.
Stanton has suffered a litany of lower-half injuries in recent seasons, including IL stints for a left hamstring strain (August 9-September 15, 2020), a left quadriceps strain (May 17-28, 2021) and right ankle inflammation (May 25 – June 4, 2022) and left Achilles tendonitis (July 26 – August 25, 2022).
“He has a great physique and physique. He works very hard to avoid those things,” Boone said. “But unfortunately it’s something that happened to him.”