TAMPA — Giancarlo Stanton was playing only his second game of the spring on Thursday night, so it was still too early to tell whether the offseason changes he made to his body and swing will lead to tangible improvements.
But the Yankees have been encouraged by some early signs, including where Stanton was starting Thursday’s game against the Marlins: right field.
Of course, more important than where Stanton plays is how he produces in the batter’s box, but manager Aaron Boone considered his early action in the field another positive sign of how the 34-year-old was feeling physically.
“I know by all the assessments and everything, he’s in a great place strength-wise,” Boone said before Stanton played five innings in a scoreless tie at Steinbrenner Field. “Probably the strongest guy still on the team and all that. And definitely moving better. It’s noticeable certainly to the strength and conditioning staff and training staff that evaluates that in the initial assessment.
“The fact that he’s eager to get in there [the outfield] this early, we’re still in February and he’s already out in the outfield. I think those are all good signs about where he’s at and how he feels about his body right now.”
Stanton went 1-for-2, lining a single the other way off a 97 mph fastball up in the zone from left-hander Ryan Weathers.
While his swing changes have not been anything drastic, Stanton said after the game that he is just keeping his hands “a little closer to my body.”
“Just getting back to the rhythm,” Stanton said. “My timing’s good. It has been good with it.”
New hitting coach James Rowson indicated that Stanton feeling comfortable with the slightly tweaked batting stance was important.
“He feels good and that’s a big part of it,” Rowson said. “Hitting is mental. He feels dangerous up there every at-bat. So I think the work he did in the offseason is starting to pay off for him right now early on.”
Stanton is coming off the worst season of his career in which he batted .191 with 24 home runs and a .695 OPS in 101 games.
But the Yankees believe Stanton is still capable of turning things around after changing his body over the offseason.
“If he can stay healthy, it’s absolutely in there,” Boone said. “He has all the strength and fast twitch to get that done.”
For now, the progress will have to come in small steps.
Thanks to the leap year, Thursday marked the first time Stanton has played a game in the outfield in February since 2019, though in the lockout-delayed spring of 2022 he did play the outfield in his second game of camp.
But Boone said in his initial conversations with Stanton upon his arrival to camp this year, the former MVP “felt a little ahead of the curve” in terms of getting out in the field.
The Yankees don’t need Stanton to be a regular in the outfield, but having him be a realistic option there gives them better lineup flexibility, especially with Aaron Judge expected to need some DH days as a break from his center field duties.
Getting lighter in the offseason — without sacrificing his strength, as Boone noted — should theoretically help Stanton move around better in the field and on the bases.
“First and foremost, hopefully [it helps his] health,” Boone said. “But definitely moving around, being more athletic, being more of a presence running the bases, more of a realistic option in the field — all those things.”
In order for that to matter, though, Stanton will need his physical improvements to carry over to the plate.
“There’s a great hitter there,” Rowson said. “The back of his baseball card doesn’t lie. Baseball’s hard. He’s making adjustments as the years go on and that’s what good players do. … I feel good where he’s at right now.”
