Aaron Hicks, Giancarlo Stanton injuries leave Yankees lineup decimated

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After Aaron Boone announced Aaron Hicks would miss time with a torn sheath in his left wrist that could lead to surgery, Giancarlo Stanton was scratched from Friday’s lineup against the Orioles...

BALTIMORE — Suddenly, the Yankees’ offense has been decimated.

After Aaron Boone announced Aaron Hicks would miss time with a torn sheath in his left wrist that could lead to surgery, Giancarlo Stanton was scratched from Friday’s lineup against the Orioles with left quad tightness.

It was a double-whammy for a lineup that just got Luke Voit back, but now could be without both Hicks and Stanton for some time, considering their injury histories.

Hicks missed Thursday’s game at Tampa Bay with the wrist injury before an MRI exam showed the torn sheath.

So far, the center fielder is taking anti-inflammatories in the hope those take care of the injury.

“Sometimes that works,’’ Boone said Friday. “Surgery could be on the table at some point, as well.”

If Hicks does have to go under the knife, he would be out “a while,” Boone said.

Mark Teixeira suffered a similar injury twice. In 2009, Teixeira only needed a cortisone shot and came back after a few games. But in 2013, he couldn’t avoid surgery.

“In 2013, I needed surgery because of the nature of the tear,’’ Teixeira said in a text message Friday. “These things are tricky. He could be fine in a few weeks or out for the season.”

Stanton’s leg injuries have been an issue for years.

He has adjusted his routine both during the season and in the offseason in an effort to avoid them — to no avail.

Stanton had remained healthy and the Yankees had avoided playing him in the outfield to try to keep him in one piece.

But with Hicks going down — which could result in anything from a few days off, to a short stay on the IL, to a season-ending surgery — Boone was asked about the possibility of Stanton going to the outfield, at least on occasion.

The manager said he was “considering” such a move and had talked to Stanton about it.

Roughly an hour later, the team announced Stanton had been scratched with the quad injury.

Stanton missed time last year with a left hamstring injury and in 2019 sprained his right knee. He also dealt with a stiff left hamstring in 2018 that he was able to play through for much of the second half of the season.

For the most part, Stanton has simply been unable to stay on the field for long stretches of time.

He showed how dangerous he can be when he does, as Stanton carried the offense for a two-week stretch from late April to early this month, when he went 25-for-54 with six homers, four doubles and 11 RBIs in a dozen games.

On Friday, the Yankees used Brett Gardner in center field, with Clint Frazier in left and Gary Sanchez replacing Stanton as the DH.

If either Hicks or Stanton have to go on the IL, there aren’t many ideal candidates to replace them — especially with Mike Tauchman just traded to the Giants in exchange for lefty reliever Wandy Peralta.

Tyler Wade is the only other player with outfield experience on the active roster, and Estevan Florial the lone minor league outfielder on the 40-man roster.

Florial, 23, was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre from Double-A Somerset on Friday, but he has played just 10 games above Double-A, including one appearance with the Yankees last season.

“We’ve always loved the person and the tools and what we believed he could be,’’ Boone said of Florial. “Hopefully now that he’s healthy, he can get regular at-bats and reps and continue to develop into the guy we think he can be.”

But he won’t be able to replace Hicks or Stanton anytime soon.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Dan Martin