Yankees’ Stanton says ‘strength is getting better’

The last time Giancarlo Stanton spoke to the media, optimism was not the first word coming to mind to describe the session.

The designated hitter, who arrived for spring training unable to swing a bat because of tendon issues in both elbows, said on March 8 “I’m not too sure” when he would be able to grip a bat, let alone swing one.

But speaking before Tuesday night’s game against the Diamondbacks, Stanton, who started the season on the injured list with what the Yankees called “right and left elbow epicondylitis,” said he of late has been doing work in the cage hitting off “the Trajekt.”

The Trajekt is a machine that, more or less, is a pitching robot that can be programmed to replicate the pitch trajectories of a given pitcher.

“Strength is getting better, so I’m getting as many at-bats as I can off of the Trajekt to catch up,” Stanton said.

Stanton, the team’s offensive MVP during its run to Game 5 of the World Series last October as he hit seven homers in 14 postseason games, said he “for sure” will need at-bats in minor league games before being able to return to the majors.

And even with the progress he has made in the last six weeks – which included three rounds of PRP injections in the elbows from late February into early March – Stanton said he does not consider himself “close” to beginning a minor league rehab assignment.

“I don’t know what you consider close, but next week or something? No,” Stanton said. “I’m just getting the feel in having full days (of work).”

Stanton spoke for just over six minutes Tuesday, with the first probably five minutes of that relating to the new “Torpedo” bats that have been topics Nos 1, 2 and 3 in the sport since Sunday. Stanton, of course, was one of the first in the majors to use the bat, doing so in the second half last year, including during his postseason outburst.

While talking March 8, Stanton theorized that “probably some bat adjustments” might have caused the issues in both elbows, though during the same availability he added: “I don’t know why it happened.”

Questioned about that on Tuesday, Stanton said: “You’re not going to get the story you’re looking for, so if that’s what you guys want, it ain’t going to happen.”

Cryptic as that may have sounded, Stanton, without hesitating, said “yeah” when asked if he’ll use the bat when he comes back.

“It makes a lot of sense,” Stanton said of the science behind the bat and why he chose to experiment with it. “It’s like, why hasn’t anyone thought of it in 100-plus years? As long as it’s comfortable in your hands. We’re creatures of habit, so the bat’s gotta feel kind of like a glove or an extension of your arm. So as long as the balance points and all that are good.”

The bats became topic du jour in the sport after the Yankees totaled 15 homers in their season-opening sweep of the Brewers, including hitting a franchise-record nine homers on Saturday. Five Yankees – Paul Goldschmidt, Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Cody Bellinger – currently are using the bats. Most, including Aaron Judge, are not.

“It’s taken on a life of its own,” Aaron Boone said Tuesday.

Boone, a longtime golfer, compared the technology involved to being fitted for golf clubs.

“I really just look at it as the evolution of equipment,” Boone said. “I mean, we want to create an environment where we’re not missing anything, or not missing any chance to help a player become their best or optimize a player. But ultimately it’s up to the players, though.”

Adding Ottavino

With new closer Devin Williams put on the paternity list Tuesday, the Yankees signed veteran righthander Adam Ottavino, who pitched for them from 2019-20, and added him to their active roster. The 39-year-old, a New York City native, exercised an out clause in the minor league deal he signed with the Red Sox in February on March 23. Boone said the Yankees liked how Ottavino, a Met from 2022-24, was throwing the ball toward the end of the spring but could not say whether the righthander will stick once Williams returns from the paternity list. “We’ll see,” Boone said. “I think he’s got a lot left in there… a chance to get a quality pitcher in here and hopefully he can help us. Where it goes, we’ll see.”