This probably is the last player Giancarlo Stanton wants to be compared with at this point.
With news Wednesday that the Yankees slugger could miss Opening Day due to a right calf strain suffered at spring training, fans on social media began likening Stanton to Jacoby Ellsbury, the perpetually injured center fielder who was released by the Yankees this offseason after having not played since the 2017 postseason due to various injuries.
Stanton’s injury misery hasn’t quite reached that of Ellsbury’s, but the 30-year-old with eight years and $244 million remaining on his 13-year, $325 million contract slowly is getting there.
After leading the Yankees with 38 home runs in his first season with the team in 2018, Stanton was limited to just 18 regular-season games last season due to biceps, shoulder and knee injuries.
It didn’t get much better in the postseason, when Stanton suffered a quad injury in Game 1 of the ALCS.
He returned for Game 5 and went hitless before missing the deciding next game, which the Yankees lost to Houston.
“I’m just getting Ellsbury vibes now and I’m over it,” Yankees fan @sirenaboricua11 tweeted following Wednesday’s injury development.
Cracked @MrMulligan44, “How close is Stanton to joining Ellsbury?”
It would be tough for the Yankees to dump Stanton like they did the two-time World Series champion Ellsbury, given the money they’d have to again swallow to make it work. And unlike the 36-year-old Ellsbury, Stanton, the NL MVP in 2017, still is considered one of the most-feared hitters in the game.
Meanwhile, Ellsbury, who the Yankees signed to a seven-year, $153 million contract in 2014, still is waiting for his next baseball opportunity.