Giancarlo Stanton extremely frustrated by latest injury

TAMPA, Fla. — Frustrated. Upset. Angry. Disappointed.

Those words don’t quite cover it for Giancarlo Stanton.

“There’s no words for it, really,” a somber Stanton said  Friday morning.

Toward the end of his defensive work Tuesday, Stanton suffered a Grade 1 strain of his right calf, raising the distinct possibility that the outfielder/designated hitter might not be ready for the season opener March 26 in Baltimore and could start the year on the injured list.

“I was moving around in the outfield, [changed direction] and felt something in my calf,” Stanton said. “So I went to check it out.”

He said he was “not surprised” that the ensuing MRI showed what it did; he knew there was an injury from the moment he felt something.

“I feel it a little bit now, but how I feel now [compared] to yesterday, it doesn’t really matter, to be honest,” he said.

Stanton, who was limited to 18 games last season because of a cross-section of injuries, said he does not know how long he will be held out of baseball activities.

“Just kind of get some slower movements the next few days and see where I’m at then,” he said. “Just get back to where I need to be.”

Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Stanton will be sidelined at least “a couple of weeks,” which could make it challenging for him to be built up in time for Opening Day.

“That all depends on this week, next week,” Stanton said of how realistic a chance he has of playing in the opener.

Stanton spoke mostly in a glum tone, which was understandable given his 2019 season. A left biceps strain put him on the injured list April 1, then left calf tightness came up during a rehab assignment May 20. After returning to the Yankees on June 18, Stanton went right back to the IL June 26 with a right knee sprain. He returned in September and played in the postseason before missing the final four games of the six-game ALCS loss to the Astros because of a low Grade 2 quadriceps strain.

Stanton’s commitment to keeping himself in uber-shape has resulted in a physique that in some ways resembles that of a body builder more than a baseball player. And last season notwithstanding, that body had been fairly durable, though still with the occasional disabled/injured list stint.

Regardless, the Jacoby Ellsbury comparisons being made by some aren’t accurate when their respective careers and the injuries sustained during them are examined.

From 2011-18 — the first seven of those spent with the Marlins — Stanton averaged 130 games per season. In 2018, his first year with the Yankees, he played in 158 games, hitting 38 homers and driving in 100 runs. The season before that, his last with the Marlins, Stanton won NL MVP honors after hitting 59 homers and driving in 132 runs in 159 games.

“Yeah, I mean it  [the injuries] makes it seem like I didn’t take care of myself, you know? Which makes it more frustrating,” Stanton said.  

He paused, then added: “I don’t have much more for you guys.”

Does he feel snake-bitten by what appears to be an unending run of bad luck with injuries?

“Yeah,” Stanton said. “But I can’t stop and feel sorry for myself.”

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.