TAMPA, Fla. — After spending nearly two weeks in New York for what the Yankees have described as “personal” reasons, Giancarlo Stanton is scheduled to fly back to Tampa on Friday.
Exactly when the designated hitter will be anywhere close to starting baseball activities remains very much up in the air.
General manager Brian Cashman, speaking before Thursday’s 8-4 loss to the Twins at Steinbrenner Field, said Stanton received a second PRP injection in both of his elbows Thursday morning. Cashman, however, didn’t have much to offer in the way of a timeline for when the 35-year-old will be cleared to do anything other than receive treatment for a condition that dates to last season. Stanton will begin the season on the injured list.
“Give it the time it needs,” Cashman said. “We’ll clearly look forward to getting him back at some point, but obviously in the near term, that won’t be the case.”
Stanton reported to camp with the rest of the Yankees’ position players on Feb. 16 for his physical and spoke a day later, discussing what Aaron Boone called “tennis elbow,” which essentially is inflammation.
Stanton disclosed that he managed and played through the issue with his elbows much of last season.
Then came Feb. 24, when Stanton, early that morning, flew to New York. The Yankees said in a statement last Saturday that Stanton “has continued with his treatment regimen, which included PRP injections to both elbows.”
A second round of those was administered Thursday.
Cashman called surgery a “last resort,” something that is not on the table at the moment.
As for the Yankees being more proactive in the offseason with Stanton’s elbow situation, Cashman said it isn’t that simple.
“The complaints didn’t come up until right before camp,” he said.
When he spoke to reporters on Feb. 17, Stanton said he had a fairly routine winter with his workout regimen but had not swung a bat in “three to four weeks” leading up to the report date.
“Obviously, thought we were in a good place, and I think he was feeling in a good place,” Cashman said. “And then it reared its ugly head about three weeks before camp is my understanding. And now we’re dealing with it.”
That isn’t all the Yankees are dealing with.
Luis Gil is in the early stages of six weeks of not throwing a baseball after being diagnosed with a right lat strain last weekend, something Cashman said will keep the reigning American League Rookie of the Year out for at least the next three months and possibly longer.
“The Gil news was difficult, as any of them are, obviously, if you lose any of these guys that are important to your club,” Cashman said. “He’s certainly important to us. But thankfully, as long as we handle it right, we’ll get him back sometime in the summer. But he’s going to be down for a long time, obviously.”
The Yankees are fortunate to have Marcus Stroman to be able to slide into Gil’s spot, but the organizational rotation depth drops off significantly after that.
Will Warren, who debuted last season and got knocked around a bit but who has impressed the Yankees and rival scouts in spring training, comes after Stroman, and from there, it’s a bevy of question marks.
Most teams go into a given year planning on needing 10 to 12 pitchers to make starts.
“Hopefully we have what we need,” Cashman said.
The Yankees hope that’s the case at third base, where Oswaldo Cabrera currently is the clear front-runner for everyday duties. DJ LeMahieu, beset by injuries the past three seasons, said Thursday morning that he has been diagnosed with a “Grade 1 or 2” left calf strain, though Cashman said “we haven’t gotten it named yet” insofar as an official diagnosis.
Regardless, “he’s going to be down for a period of time,” Cashman said.
After looking sharp last Friday in his exhibition debut, Gerrit Cole struggled Thursday, allowing six runs — five coming in the second inning — and five hits in 2 2⁄3 innings. The outburst included a three-run homer by Matt Wallner and a solo shot by Brooks Lee. “Got my work in,” Cole said. “Not great command. Just trying to work the fastball over and over again. Just really bad command . . . Really liked the velocity. It was really high and the ball was moving a lot.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.