Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees position players report to spring training

Yankees pitchers and catchers reported to spring training last week. Yesterday position players arrived. Many, however, had been in camp for a while. The Bombers took another step closer to Grapefruit League play and real life baseball.

One of the Yankees who stopped and chatted with the press was Giancarlo Stanton. Many fans were disappointed with his first year in pinstripes, since he didn’t put up MVP-caliber numbers. Remember that hamstring injury that he suffered in early August, though? No, the right fielder didn’t end up on the shelf, but that followed the Aaron Judge injury and the Bombers had no outfielders to spare. They couldn’t afford to lose his bat, so he continued to DH through the pain.

It sounds like the injury could be to blame for his down second half:

If that is the case, here’s hoping that he takes 2019 by storm. For his part, he thinks he’ll be more comfortable now that he’s familiar with the AL East. Stanton also weighed in on the state of free agency, saying “there’s issues that need to be addressed.” He admitted to being happy that he locked in his 13-year, $325 million deal before MLB apparently decided to stop issuing lengthy contracts.

Elsewhere, Miguel Andujar worked on his defense yesterday with the team’s infield coordinator. According to Jack Curry, it was an intense workout with a lot of instruction. They are specifically focusing on his pre-pitch setup, with the goal being for him to take the most “efficient first step.” He is also working on changing his throwing motion to be more over-the-top instead of side angle—at least for routine grounders—which should help with throwing accuracy.

Speaking of throwing, Didi Gregorius played catch yesterday. He also fielded groundballs at shortstop. He’s only two weeks into his throwing program, and we know he’s far from returning, but it’s nice to see him out there all the same.