Yankees panic meter: How concerning are Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Luis Gil injuries?

New York Times

04-03-2025

The past few days have evoked a sense of déjà vu for New York Yankees fans. The team has already lost three projected starters to injury, and we're still three weeks from Opening Day.
Luis Gil, DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton have all been shut down with injuries, and it's unclear when fans can expect to see them on the field again.
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There are varying levels of concern regarding each player's injury and its impact on the overall roster. Let's turn to the panic meter to see how worried fans should be.
Panic meter: Zen
The Yankees point to injuries as the reason LeMahieu hasn't been a quality player in the past few seasons. Still, he was declining before those injuries zapped his abilities. Since 2020, LeMahieu's contact quality metrics have trended downward. He was once known as a pure line-drive hitter, but his line-drive rate has plummeted from 22 percent in 2020 to 15 percent in 2024. LeMahieu has traded line drives for groundballs during the same period.
This year, LeMahieu was shut down from baseball activities with a tweaked calf. He was set to undergo an MRI on Tuesday to learn the severity. It seems highly unlikely he'll be ready to play by Opening Day, even if it's a minor injury; he's had just two spring training at-bats and must ramp back up.
The veteran's unavailability might be beneficial for the Yankees. If they had relied on their internal candidates for third base, LeMahieu likely would have been the starting choice. There is nothing to indicate that LeMahieu can become a quality hitter again. But the Yankees likely would have given him every opportunity to prove himself because he's owed $15 million this season and next. With LeMahieu likely needing to miss time, Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza are battling for his job.
Neither Cabrera nor Peraza is a particularly appealing option to start at third. Cabrera is better suited to be the Yankees' super utilityman. Anthony Volpe already passed over Peraza for a starting job. The Yankees' actions suggest they don't believe in Peraza's ability to contribute at the major-league level. Yankees officials have said they believe he could be an elite defender, but the bat remains in question.
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It would be best for the Yankees to bring in an external third baseman before the end of the month. Jose Iglesias remains a free agent after posting a 137 wRC+ in 85 games with the New York Mets. It seems bizarre that a player who was 37 percent better than league average is unsigned, but a deeper look at his metrics shows why he's available. His average exit velocity was 85.8 mph; only 14 qualified players hit the ball softer than Iglesias in 2024. He walked in only 4.1 percent of his at-bats, and his chase rate neared 40 percent. His BABIP was .382. If he were a qualified hitter, his BABIP would have led MLB. Normally, leaders in BABIP are sluggers or tend to hit missiles. Iglesias doesn't fit the description there.
Who else could make sense if they were to become available through trade? Josh Smith, Texas Rangers utilityman and former Yankees prospect who was traded for Joey Gallo, is without a clear position, although the Rangers have said they plan to play him frequently. Los Angeles Angels infielder Luis Rengifo is a free agent at the end of the season and has not had contract extension talks with the club. If top prospect Christian Moore makes the Angels out of camp, Los Angeles could move Rengifo to fill other needs.
No matter what the Yankees decide to do at third base, it will likely be better than what LeMahieu can offer at this stage of his career.
Panic meter: Anxious
General manager Brian Cashman may have been blunt in his assessment that getting hurt 'seems to be part' of Stanton's game, but he wasn't wrong. No one can be surprised that the Yankees will be without Stanton for some time. Rostering Stanton comes with an understanding that he'll likely be on the injured list at some point in the year; this year's IL stint just happened to come at the beginning of the season.
What is concerning about Stanton's prognosis is that he'll be out for an unspecified amount of time after getting platelet-rich plasma injections in both of his elbows. The Yankees haven't indicated when he'll resume baseball activities.
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In Stanton's absence, the Yankees are too left-handed and need a right-handed bat. Their probable internal options to replace Stanton and LeMahieu are lefties Ben Rice and Dominic Smith. The team should look to get a right-handed bench bat to bring more balance. Perhaps outfield prospect Everson Pereira surprises and makes the team out of spring training; Yankees manager Aaron Boone has said he believes in Pereira's potential.
There were already lineup concerns with Stanton, and that only increases without him in the middle of the order. Jasson Domínguez and Volpe are unproven. Austin Wells tailed off at the end of the season but has the potential to be a quality hitter. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has only been slightly above league average for his career. Cody Bellinger is more of a contact-oriented hitter rather than the power hitter some fans believe him to be. Paul Goldschmidt is coming off the worst season of his career. Third base is a glaring weak spot.
The Yankees' lineup has potential, but there's considerable uncertainty, and it wouldn't be surprising if the team ends up searching longer than anticipated to identify who the second-best hitter is behind Aaron Judge.
Panic meter: Panicked
The Yankees shut down the reigning American League Rookie of the Year with a high-grade lat strain. He won't throw for at least six weeks. When he is ready to resume throwing, he'll need a full spring training to build up. So, think of this injury as a minimum of three months down — and that's if every step of his recovery goes smoothly.
High-grade lat strains can derail a pitcher's entire season. Luis Severino sustained a Grade 2 lat strain in April 2019 and didn't return to the Yankees' rotation until September. Clarke Schmidt missed over three months last season with a lat strain, and his no-throw period was two weeks shorter than Gil's.
Without Gil, Marcus Stroman has a solidified spot in the rotation. Only Cal Quantrill and Griffin Canning had an ERA worse than Stroman's 6.11 after July 1. The Yankees have not been secretive in their desire to trade Stroman this offseason to reduce payroll, but the team has been unsuccessful.
This is the fourth straight season the Yankees have lost a projected starter during spring training. Last season, Gil took over for Gerrit Cole, who went down with a nerve issue in his elbow.
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Before fans start blaming the organization and systemic issues, losing a starting pitcher in spring isn't only a Yankees problem. Pitchers break down. That's baseball.
It's a good thing the Yankees signed Max Fried in free agency; otherwise, the Gil injury would be a much bigger problem than it is.
(Photo of Giancarlo Stanton: Ed Zurga / Getty Images)