The New York Yankees may have to play a contingency in the wake of the Giancarlo Stanton situation.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported on Thursday that the Yankees have had “some contact” with free agent slugger JD Martinez amid the latest injury to their veteran designated hitter Stanton. Heyman further notes that top prospect Spencer Jones is not yet a candidate to make the team as he is still considered to be “in development.”
The former NL MVP Stanton, now 35 years old, is not expected to be ready for Opening Day as he is currently dealing with a painful tendon issue in both of his elbows. Heyman even reports that there is a possibility that Stanton could be out for “weeks” to begin the 2025 season.
As for Martinez, 37, he remains unsigned after hitting .235 with 16 homers and 69 RBIs in 120 games last season for the New York Mets. A righty hitter just like Stanton, Martinez is a six-time career All-Star and a three-time career Silver Slugger winner (also winning the World Series in 2018 with the rival Boston Red Sox).
Having served almost exclusively as a DH over the last several years, Martinez may be an ideal fill-in for Stanton’s spot in the lineup. But if Stanton is only out for a brief period to begin the new season, the Yankees may not be incentivized to sign an outside free agent for the entire year.
The oft-injured Stanton has actually appeared in 100 or more games in each of the last four seasons for the Yankees (topping out at 139 games played in the 2021 campaign). While taking out an insurance policy on Stanton would be wise, especially as he ages, we heard recently that the Yankees might be running out of money with which to do so.
