TAMPA — A year ago at this time, Giancarlo Stanton arrived at spring training with two painful elbows that would delay his season until mid-June.
That double elbow tendinitis, he reiterated Tuesday, is “not going anywhere.” But it appears to be in a much more manageable spot at this point for the Yankees’ 36-year-old slugger, clearing the way for him to at least start camp as a full participant.
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Now the challenge will be trying to stay healthy throughout the year so Stanton can make his presence felt in the middle of the Yankees’ lineup as much as possible.
“There’s always going to be maintenance,” Stanton said Tuesday after the second full-squad workout. “But [the elbows] didn’t hinder me from any work [in the offseason] and that’s the most important.”
Both Stanton and manager Aaron Boone said the designated hitter has been moving around well in the first few days of camp, with Boone saying he looks “real lean.”
Even still, Boone indicated he would likely slow-play Stanton into Grapefruit League games — possibly delaying his spring debut by a week — to be safe, as he often does with veterans.
That proactiveness will extend into the regular season, with Boone planning to give Stanton semi-regular days off, as he did last year, to give him the best chance to stay healthy over the long season.
Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees warms up during team workouts at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 17, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. Getty Images
“I think we had a good schedule there,” said Stanton, who has a history of soft-tissue injuries in his legs. “There were some times maybe I wanted to be out there, but understand the process and the way we got a good rotation of guys in the offense. So it was good.
“I think it’s a never-ending adjustment of the best way for us to be the best and for me to stay out there.”
At least in Boone’s mind, that also includes keeping the outfield in play for Stanton, who may get some games in the field this spring.
Ideally the Yankees will not have to actually play him there during the season, Boone acknowledged, but they want to have the option, and also believe there is a side benefit to it.
Giancarlo Stanton hitting live batting practice during today’s workout at Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees’ Spring Training home in Tampa, Florida. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“I think when he is doing his outfield work throughout the year — even at times when he’s going weeks where he’s not playing — when he’s out there and moving around, I think it serves him well,” Boone said.
After being delayed by the elbow troubles, Stanton, who made 18 starts in the field last year — all of them to allow Aaron Judge to DH as he came back from a flexor strain — enjoyed his most productive regular season since 2021.
He hit .273 with 24 home runs and a .944 OPS in 77 games, offering hope for what he could still do over the course of a full season if he avoids the injured list.
That will be especially important this season given how much the Yankees need his right-handed bat in the middle of a lineup dominated by lefty bats.
For now, the goal remains simple as Stanton enters the second-to-last year of his contract, still in search of his first ring.
“The point of being a Yankee is being a champion,” he said. “There’s always going to be the sting there without that.”
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