Why Giancarlo Stanton's setback actually isn't the worst thing for Yankees

When Aaron Boone announced that Giancarlo Stanton had a setback in his recovery from a strained calf, an audible groan emanated from New York Yankees fans across the greater metropolitan area. Of course, the powerful (yet fragile) slugger will now miss two months with an injury the team initially projected as day-to-day.

Normally, there would be panic as Aaron Judge's injury already left a void in the Yankees lineup, and Stanton could've been the man to fill it. However, Stanton's absence presents a silver lining for New York in the form of an extended run for young Yankees outfielders Spencer Jones and Jasson Dominguez.

For one thing, this just goes to show how important depth can be. Many moaned and groaned that the return of Cody Bellinger, and most importantly Trent Grisham's acceptance of the qualifying offer, had hopelessly blocked Jones and Dominguez.

Bellinger has been even more impressive than he was last season, and while Grisham had been heating up his hamstring injury against the Blue Jays has resulted in a trip to the IL of his own.

Good thing the Yankees didn't trade one or both of the youngsters over the winter. Lesson learned! Depth matters. Now, the two are poised to see a lot more playing time, and the early returns have the Yankees set to receive multiple benefits from having the youngsters in the lineup thanks to the openings created by Stanton and Grisham's injuries.

Yankees will learn a lot about Spencer Jones and Jasson Dominguez

Jones got the first crack, replacing Judge while Dominguez was nursing an injury of his own. The mammoth outfielder looked completely overwhelmed, hitting .167/.259/.167 with a 44.4% strikeout rate that highlighted his greatest pitfall during his first big league stint from May 8-21.

Jones got some words of encouragement from Judge upon his demotion to Scranton. The Yankee captain is one of the few who could truly understand what Jones was going through as a six-foot-seven outfielder who struggled with strikeouts as a 25-year-old rookie as well.

“You’ve got the poise,” the Judge said to Jones, per The Athletic. “You’ve got everything that we’re looking for with guys on the team. We believe in you. We’re going to need you this year. Stay ready.”

Stay ready, he did. Since being recalled on June 5, Jones logged his first career big league homer and hit .316/.381/.526 over his seven games back. He's still K'ing at an elevated rate (38.1%), which is worth keeping an eye on, but he's also crushing baseballs with a 97.5 miles per hour average exit velocity.

As for Dominguez, his activation from the IL and return to the majors was the corresponding move to Grisham's placement on the IL. He's already homered and is 2-for-8 in his two games played while looking surprisingly comfortable in right field.

This presents the Yankees with two intriguing paths to take. The first involved evaluating these young outfielders as potential trade pieces. The performance will matter, and they should each get a decent sample of playing time to evaluate them.

The actual production will matter, but even more important will be what's going on under the hood. The bottom line metrics, like hard-hit rate, launch angle, chase rate, as well as expected stats like xBA and xSLG, will determine if one or both are pieces worth holding on to or trading.

Coming to a decision on who stays and who goes, if either of them is deemed a trade chip, will be critical. Up to this point, the assumption has been that one must go, but the clarity as to who that would be has been murky.

The second part is something grander. This is determining if one or both can truly be a core piece of the next Yankees run. The prevailing wisdom has been that New York's window of contention is closer to the end than the beginning, in large part due to Judge and Gerrit Cole hitting their mid-30s.

Earlier this year, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic (subscription required) posited that the breakouts of Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice have essentially reopened the Yankees' window by getting ready to supplant Cole and Judge as the pitching and lineup cornerstones.

Adding Jones and/or Dominguez to that future calculus, plus top prospects like Carlos Lagrange, George Lombard Jr., and Elmer Rodriguez, could have the next decade of Yankees baseball looking much brighter.

One step at a time, of course. The youngsters are getting a shot, and it doesn't feel like the bottom is falling out. That's a huge win, and it's bringing future clarity to the forefront. Eventually, the Yankees will need Stanton, but for now, his absence is sort of a positive development.

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