It only took one day for Giancarlo Stanton to make his injury sound way worse

In case Giancarlo Stanton's Yankees legacy was up for grabs in any capacity last season (it shouldn't have been, but we know Yankee fans), he cemented himself as a supremely talented slugger with a propensity to rise to the moment during the team's long-awaited World Series run.

Stanton's white hot performance perfectly aligned with the calendar, and we'll be forever thankful for that. Regrettably, predicting when Stanton will be available has become an impossible science as his body has aged; even taking things very easy on the basepaths has not prevented recurring soft tissue tweaks in his legs.

It seems the unavoidable Stanton injury has arisen early this year, as the slugger arrived at Yankees camp nursing elbow soreness in both his right and left arms. According to Aaron Boone, elbow tendinitis was an issue that Stanton was forced to manage and play through last season; both his second half slide and October heroics occurred while he was gritting his teeth.

Stanton himself shined a more worrisome light on the issue Monday after Boone had attempted to minimize worry the day prior. According to the slugger, he hasn't swung a bat in nearly a month amid "very high" recurrences of previous pain. He is questionable for Opening Day.

Who can replace Yankees star DH Giancarlo Stanton (elbow pain) on Opening Day?

It's already starting to feel like one of those years where the projections just don't matter. If no one's available, they can't match the algorithm's WAR total, now can they?

This is where the Yankees' troublesome depth comes into play. Stanton is a phenomenal hitter and an essential presence; he's also missed a chunk of time annually in order to get right by season's end. Whenever he is slated to go down this year, he will likely be replaced by Trent Grisham or Ben Rice. This team already has a hole at third base and a hodgepodge bench. Losing Stanton, not to mention anyone else in the lineup, will only further expose this glaring issue.

And, again, for as rightly beloved as Stanton is, losing him isn't exactly something that should catch anyone by surprise.

The Yankees are undermanned in multiple ways on offense to begin 2025, placing their "run prevention" emphasis under the microscope. Losing a certain thunderous bat from their offensive equation in December was bound to collect doubters, regardless of the rest of the roster's construction. If Stanton starts on the shelf, the reveal of who, exactly, is the next man up might shock plenty of casual observers.