TAMPA — Giancarlo Stanton was back at Yankee camp Friday, but not for long.
The slugger will head back to New York on Monday for yet another round of PRP injections on his ailing elbows, a team spokesman said Friday.
Stanton had been away since Feb. 24 to deal with a personal matter before he returned Friday, and there’s no telling when he’ll be able to resume baseball activities as he continues to deal with tennis elbow (tendinitis) that’s impacting both arms.
The Yankees already knew he would be out at least through the beginning of the regular season — and this third round of injections could delay his return even more.
He hasn’t swung a bat in nearly six weeks.
Before the announcement of the third round of PRPs, manager Aaron Boone said he didn’t expect Stanton to play in any spring training games.
“I doubt it,” Boone said of the 35-year-old. “But I don’t know that for sure.”
The goal is to get the elbow pain under control so that Stanton can begin to swing and then advance to taking at-bats.
He seems a long way from that now.
Asked what activities he’s doing, Boone said, “Not a lot.”
“He’s just moving slowly and we’re hopeful we get to a point where we start ramping him up,” Boone said. “He seems like he’s in a good frame of mind. We’ll just listen to the body.”
The added round of injections is the latest part of the team treating Stanton’s injury conservatively, as general manager Brian Cashman said Thursday that surgery would be a “last resort.”
“I can’t rule out a surgery,” Cashman said. “But I know it’s not recommended in the front end of this thing. But obviously if you have a number of different failed attempts, then you start looking at different ways of intervention.”
It’s the latest injury blow for Stanton, who has battled plenty of lower-body injuries over the last six-plus years.
The elbow issue began last year, but Stanton and the Yankees believed it was behind him during the offseason before the pain popped up again shortly before the start of camp.
Without Stanton, the Yankees could have Aaron Judge DH more often, with Trent Grisham in the lineup in center field and Cody Bellinger in right.
Boone has spoken highly of Ben Rice’s bat and he could be a left-handed option, especially if the Yankees carry three catchers.
Lefty-swinging Dom Smith also has been solid, but is not on the 40-man roster, and the Yankees don’t want their lineup to be overly left-handed.
As Cashman noted Thursday, Stanton and the Yankees are “in a little bit of the unknown and you’re trying to treat everything conservatively and you hope for the best. But you have to give it the time to play out first until you know where you’re sitting.”
Stanton hasn’t played more than 114 games since 2021, and the Yankees want to make sure he’s healthy before he returns.
“Hopefully this is something that’s gonna cost us a little bit of time on the front end, but serves us well over the long haul,” Boone said. “He’s methodical and meticulous [in his rehab]. He’ll make sure he’s good. He’s not gonna rush [back]. He’s got to be right.”
