NEW YORK — For New York Yankees fans, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge were supposed to be this generation’s Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, or Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Two larger-than-life sluggers in the middle of their primes were supposed to form the sport’s most devastating home run duo. They were supposed to win multiple championships.
When the Yankees acquired Stanton in a statement trade with the Miami Marlins before the 2018 season, the vision was clear. Judge had announced himself as the game’s newest superstar after hitting 52 home runs in his Rookie of the Year season. Stanton was the reigning National League MVP, fresh off hitting 59 home runs.
It was impossible not to think of prolonged greatness. The Yankees now had two enormous, terrifying sluggers in the middle of their order.
Together, they did not come close to meeting those lofty expectations, and now the end of an era is nearer.
The Yankees announced Saturday that Stanton had sustained a left calf strain while rehabbing from two calf strains in his right leg. Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged it would be “challenging” for Stanton, who has just 90 at-bats in 2026, to return this season. It is the latest chapter in a tragic downfall for one of baseball’s most feared sluggers, and it should prompt hard decisions about the five-time All-Star’s future as the club looks to 2027.
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Stanton’s Yankees career has turned into a case of what-might-have-been, as injuries have routinely betrayed his body. He has been limited to 606 of 1,160 regular-season games since 2019. After this latest injury, it is increasingly difficult to imagine his Yankees career having an ending that is anything but uncomfortable.
It is time for the Yankees to face reality: They can no longer afford to plan a roster around a 36-year-old player whose body refuses to cooperate.
When everyone is healthy, the Yankees will have a roster logjam. Ben Rice has not shown enough defensive improvement at first base this season, which has effectively rendered him a designated hitter. The Yankees’ trade for Luis García Jr. has proven shrewd. Now they don’t have to rely on Stanton to return because García can play first while Rice continues getting DH at-bats.
Judge will also likely require more DH days when he returns from his fractured rib injury in the coming weeks. The Yankees should figure out ways to minimize some of the injury risk for Judge while he plays the outfield. They cannot afford to have the best hitter of his generation unavailable because of freak injuries. Then there’s Jasson Domínguez — if the Yankees believe in the 23-year-old’s future; he, too, is trending toward being a designated hitter.
With several Yankees players who will need DH at-bats, where does that leave Stanton? It wouldn’t make sense to have someone of his stature and salary on the bench as a role player or pinch hitter. But that’s what his role would be if he returns.
Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, a dream power pairing, now feels like a case of what-might-have-been. (Rich Graessle / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Stanton is owed $25 million next season, but the Yankees are only on the hook for $15 million, with the Marlins paying the other $10 million. The slugger also has a $25 million club option in 2028 — his age-38 season — which the Yankees almost certainly would decline because of his injury history. If they decline the option, he is owed a $10 million buyout. The $25 million the Yankees owe Stanton for the next two seasons is within the range that owner Hal Steinbrenner has been willing to absorb to move on from a player.
The Yankees over the last few weeks have repeatedly talked about Stanton’s imminent return and what it would mean, but it has become obvious: They can no longer count on him.
They don’t have to move on from Stanton immediately, especially with the uncertainty of a looming lockout and the potential for injuries in spring training next year. But it would be unwise for the club to plan on him as the starting designated hitter. If Stanton’s body is in such poor condition that he initially injured his calf while jogging to second base on a walk in April and then suffered two more calf strains in non-game action, it’s time to go in a different direction.
Doing so will not be an easy decision because of what Stanton means to the clubhouse. Stanton is not the most outspoken leader, but when he speaks, his teammates listen. When the Yankees struggled last August, Stanton stood in the middle of the visitors clubhouse at Globe Life Field and delivered a passionate speech, which Judge called a “wake-up call” for the club. He’s been dubbed the team’s unofficial “second captain.” Austin Wells once said there might not be anyone inside the clubhouse who cares more about winning than Stanton. Jazz Chisholm Jr., who also moved from Miami to New York, has talked about how Stanton helped him navigate the change.
For all the disappointment surrounding Stanton, he has been productive for the Yankees when healthy, posting a 124 wRC+. He has also been the Yankees’ best postseason player of this era. In 202 postseason plate appearances, he has a .926 OPS, second in franchise history among players with at least 200 postseason plate appearances, trailing only Hideki Matsui’s .933. Stanton’s 18 postseason home runs are tied for the third most in franchise history with Mantle; only Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter have more.
Giancarlo Stanton admires a home run against the Dodgers in Game 1 of the 2024 MLB World Series. (Jayne Kamin / Oncea-Imagn Images)
That is not the resume of a failed Yankee. But it is one of a Yankees career that never reached the highest heights. For fans, the rush was intense after the club added Stanton to a roster that was one win away from reaching the 2017 World Series. It seemed like Judge and Stanton would be the pillars of the next Yankees dynasty, but it looks like that wasn’t meant to be.
That doesn’t mean the Yankees screwed up in their process by trading for Stanton. Shohei Ohtani was their focus during the 2018 offseason. Once it became clear Ohtani wasn’t signing with an East Coast team, the Yankees pivoted to Stanton. He was a 28-year-old superstar who did not have serious injury concerns. It’s easy to forget now, but Stanton was a well-above-average base runner who ranked in the 71st percentile in sprint speed in 2017.
Because his body has broken down over the past several years, many fans do not view him favorably, and his presence likely cost the Yankees the opportunity to acquire Bryce Harper and other high-profile superstars in free agency or trades.
In Stanton, the Yankees thought they were adding a slugger in the middle of his prime who had just hit 59 home runs. He was well on his way to becoming a Hall of Fame player, but now that is also in doubt. Stanton is the active leader with 456 home runs, and because of how one-dimensional he has become, reaching 500 home runs might have been a necessary threshold for voters. Every player with 500 is in the Hall of Fame, except for those connected to performance-enhancing drugs.
The Yankees haven’t ruled out Stanton for the season, and you should never count out a great player. But with how the last few years of his career have gone, with the countless injuries, this was always how it was likely to end. The decline would be harsh and punishing, leaving so many what-ifs.
What if he could stay healthy? What if Stanton and Judge had several seasons together at full strength? What if the Yankees had gotten the version of Stanton who was regularly posting seasons of a 140 wRC+ or better?
We’ll never know. That’s why Stanton’s Yankees tenure feels like a disappointment. The hardest thing for Yankees fans to come to grips with isn’t that he was a failure but that this era was supposed to be so much bigger. Instead, it’s just a massive what-if that should be over.