Yankees: Giancarlo Stanton’s timeline for return from injury revealed

The Yankees will get Giancarlo Stanton back from injury … eventually.

When Aaron Boone put Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton on the IL this week, the move preempted the MRI that Stanton planned to take on Monday.

As Boone said, he assumed the injury would keep Stanton out at least a week, regardless of severity. Therefore, it made sense to claim the extra roster spot, even if Big G only ended up missing two series against the Braves and Red Sox.

But, on the other hand, we know Stanton by now. We know how his injury timelines can torpedo, and that discomfort in one area of the leg can quickly migrate downwards.

Therefore, when the MRI results were revealed on Monday, Yankees fans breathed a sigh of relief. They also mentally checked off the “high” end of Jon Heyman’s typical injury timeline, because they know better.

It’s only a Grade 1 hamstring strain for Stanton, the lowest level of severity possible. However, a “normal estimate” of 3-4 weeks would signal, to me, that we should count on four weeks and prepare for an additional week of rest.

At least Stanton won’t have to run on Tropicana Field turf when he gets back? He won’t have to run on Toronto’s weird surface, either; Buffalo’s got all-natural grass, something the Blue Jays haven’t embraced for decades.

Tuesday’s news is a silver lining, sure, but we know better than to rest on the laurels of an estimate.

Analysts like Joel Sherman in the piece above have hit the nail on the head. Stanton is an extraordinary talent with a cumbersome contract, which only gets tougher to juggle each time he succumbs to minor injuries that spiral.

It’s great news that this hamstring issue is minor, but with plenty of bats to plug into the DH role, the Yankees need to wait as long as it takes to make sure Stanton is healthy enough for a potential playoff bubble.

For his reputation and the team’s future, he really needs a clean bill of health. We believe in the talent, and we know how frustrating this is for the man himself. We’ll see him in four weeks, but we understand it could take longer.

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