Yankees place Giancarlo Stanton on 10-day IL, recall Tim Locastro

Giancarlo Stanton has been out of the lineup for a bit and was expected to be back for tonight’s game against the Mets, but now he’ll be sitting out for a while. The Yankees placed the All-Star slugger on the 10-day injured list retroactive to July 24th with left Achilles tendonitis. Tim Locastro was recalled from Triple-A Scranton as the corresponding move.

Stanton hadn’t started the last two games against the Orioles, though he did pinch-hit in Saturday’s 3-6 loss. He also didn’t start in the first game of the Houston doubleheader and pinch-hit later in the game as well, following the short All-Star break. Stanton did play in the Midsummer Classic, belting a home run and earning MVP honors for his performance.

Previously, Stanton had spoke about his absence from the lineup as a precaution that manager Aaron Boone wanted him to take, with the expectation that he’d use the off-day on Monday to be game ready. It wasn’t known at the time that the area of concern was the Achilles, but given that the team is back-dating the IL stint perhaps this is still a lesser injury concern than the ones that have been rocking the team more recently.

Stanton has been a mainstay at the top of the lineup as per usual, slashing .228/.309/.498 with 24 home runs, good for a 125 wRC+. He’s also continued his acclimation back into the outfield on a regular basis, which has greatly helped the lineup management. Even if it’s just for a short duration, the Yankees will miss his bat and his presence adding to a list of mashers like Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo.