Yankees make plans to replace Giancarlo Stanton on roster after latest injury

NEW YORK — The controversial comment that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman made about designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton during his GM Meetings tirade last fall hasn’t aged well.

Not only was Cashman in hot water for what he said, but he was also spot on.

“I’m not going to tell you he’s gonna play every game next year because he’s not,” Cashman said of Stanton last November. “He’s gonna wind up getting hurt again, more likely than not, because it seems to be part of his game.”

Sure enough, after two-plus months of productivity in the heart of the Yankees’ lineup to start the season, Stanton is hurt again.

The 34-year-old exited Saturday night’s win over the Braves with tightness in his left hamstring.

Stanton was spotted grimacing as he rounded third base in the fourth inning, scoring from second base on a Gleyber Torres double. Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed after the game that when Stanton got to the dugout, he pulled the skipper aside and said he needed to come out of the game.

“He’s in pretty good spirits considering it,” Boone said. “Hopefully it’s not too significant, but yeah, obviously he’s dealt with these kinds of things in the past. Hopefully it’s not something that keeps him down too long.”

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While the severity of the injury is still unknown — Stanton will have an MRI on Sunday — it’s safe to assume that this will result in a stint on the injured list. Boone acknowledged that Stanton will miss some games because of this and his track record suggests that it could be weeks. The Yankees will hope it’s not months.

Stanton has already suffered two left hamstring strains with the Yankees. He missed 32 games during the pandemic-shortened season and sat out for 43 games with the same injury last year. The hamstring injury he suffered last April happened as he ran to second base, pulling into the bag on a double.

If he does go on the injured list, it’ll be the sixth season in a row where he’s been placed on the IL at least once. His first season as a Yankee (2018) is his last full campaign — Stanton played in 158 games that year.

It’s clear that the Yankees are bracing for an IL stint because they’ve already made their pick of who will replace Stanton on the active roster.

Former top prospect Oswald Peraza is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday, per Daniel Álvarez-Montes of ElExtrabase.

Peraza started the year on the injured list with a shoulder strain. He probably would’ve made the Yankees’ Opening Day roster and could’ve been the starter at third base if he didn’t get shut down in spring training and miss the first few months of the season. DJ LeMahieu was also hurt at the time, leading to Oswaldo Cabrera’s playing time and the acquisition of Jon Berti from the Marlins … an infielder that’s currently on the Yankees’ injured list for the foreseeable future.

Since Peraza got back to Triple-A a few weeks ago, he’s struggled at the plate. The infielder is hitting .178 with a .528 OPS in 28 games. He has just one home run.

The reason the Yankees are going with Peraza is because they have limited options. Top prospects Jasson Domínguez and Everson Pereira would’ve been great fits to get some run in the outfield and allow Aaron Judge and Juan Soto to get more DH days with Stanton down, but both of them are hurt. Domínguez is out for eight-plus weeks with an oblique strain and Pereira is done for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Peraza was one of four conceivable promotions when looking at the Yankees’ 40-man roster. There’s infielder Jorbit Vivas and catchers Agustin Ramirez and Carlos Narvaez.

Some fans were clamoring for Ramirez to get the nod on Saturday night, but he’s only been in Triple-A for a handful of games so far. His power potential is prodigious and if everything goes according to plan for the Yankees, he’ll be hitting home runs in pinstripes soon enough, but this would’ve been an extremely quick turnaround.

The Yankees could’ve certainly pulled from their outfield depth in Triple-A, but there aren’t many impactful options there either. Taylor Trammell was on the big-league club earlier this season, Oscar Gonzalez impressed as a non-roster invitee this spring, Brandon Lockridge would be a valuable speedster to have in late innings and Jose Rojas has hit a team-best 15 home runs with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Pereira still hasn’t been moved to the 60-day injured list yet, so making room for any of those pieces — or even an external acquisition — would’ve been easy.

But the Yankees don’t necessarily need an outfielder. They can give Trent Grisham — who homered on Saturday — more playing time in center field and use Cabrera in the corners if need be. Jahmai Jones has also been used in the outfield.

Peraza is a quality defender at third base, second base and shortstop. Perhaps second baseman Gleyber Torres will get some starts at designated hitter while Stanton is out. Ben Rice has adjusted well defensively at first base since getting called up, so as long as he can heat up with the bat, the Yankees won’t need to rely on LeMahieu there.

The fact is that Stanton was a real threat in the meat of the Yankees’ order. Losing that presence — his 18 home runs and his tremendous numbers with runners in scoring position — is a blow.

“He’s been such a force for this offense being in the middle of the lineup,” Aaron Judge said Saturday night, “hitting behind me and Dugie or hitting behind me. Hitting the homers, coming up clutch with guys on base, that’s a big part of his game. So hopefully we get some good news.”

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Max Goodman may be reached at mgoodman@njadvancemedia.com.