Yankees to place Giancarlo Stanton on injured list with PCL strain

The Yankees threw cold water on their walk-off win Wednesday afternoon, as Aaron Boone told reporters that Giancarlo Stanton would head to the injured list with a sprained PCL in his right knee. Per Lindsey Adler, the team will call up outfielder Mike Tauchman from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as the corresponding move.

The injury took place in the first inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Blue Jays. Stanton hit a single off Clayton Richard, but then got caught up in an odd 5-3-1 double play. As he dove into third base, he took an awkward step and crashed to the ground.

He resumed his spot in left field for two innings, but Brett Gardner replaced him in the top of the fourth.

PCL injuries do not seem as prevalent as their ACL counterparts, but they’re not unheard of. In fact, Ben Lindbergh and Corey Dawkins wrote about this type of injury at Baseball Prospectus back in 2011. Thankfully many players who suffer these sprains avoid surgery. The team will shut Stanton down for 10 days before re-evaluating him, so this stint on the IL will not be for the minimum amount of time required.

Stanton, 29, has had an injury plagued 2019 campaign. He tore his biceps in April, experienced a shoulder ailment shortly thereafter, got hit by a pitch during a rehab assignment, and strained his calf. In 38 plate appearances when healthy, Stanton worked a 133 wRC+ with one home run.

Tauchman, meanwhile, will take Stanton’s place for the London Series. The 28-year-old has hit .212/.305/.394 with four home runs (86 wRC+) over 37 games with the Yankees. This means that Gardner will take over everyday duties in left field, while Clint Frazier gets consistent work with the RailRiders.