New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone gave an encouraging injury update in regards to the progress of outfielder Giancarlo Stanton.
The New York Yankees have no idea when the start of the 2020 regular season will be, but there was some good news to be had on Monday. As the baseball world comes to a screeching halt, there was an encouraging update on the status of outfielder Giancarlo Stanton.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has directly impacted the Yankees, Opening Day has been pushed back. There is no timetable for the start of the season. The Yankees can simply wake up every day and hope there is positive news. However, Yankees manager Aaron Boone had an interview with YES Network on Monday. He said Stanton would “probably be ready to go” if a spring training game was coming up.
“He’s been doing really well,’’ Boone said in the interview. “He’s been hitting now for a few weeks, but [also] running pretty much at full speed outside and changing directions. [He’s] doing all the\ things necessary to get into a game.”
Stanton suffered a Grade 1 calf strain early in spring training. He did so while running outfield drills during the first week of team workouts. At the time, he was in doubt for the start of the season. But with the recent virus quarantining the entire country, he has extra time to heal.
Aaron Judge update
Boone not only touched on Stanton’s injury status. He also talked about the most important player in the lineup. Judge has been shut down since it was revealed he had a stress fracture in his rib. He’s been resting and rehabbing, though it was also revealed he had a collapsed lung due to the rib injury. That injury has healed, and he waits on the rib to follow.
But Boone had similar hope when it came to Judge. If opening day continues to get pushed back, Boone has high hopes that Judge will be there when the season officially starts.
“One of the good things is hopefully this is the time where [Judge] can get the proper rest to allow the rib to heal properly and hopefully when it’s time to play ball, Aaron is with us,’’ Boone said.
As the coronavirus continues to impact the sports world, there is no telling when the season will return. The longer it takes, though, the better chances Judge and Stanton have of being on the field when it’s time to play.