NEW YORK — Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton is on the injured list for the fourth straight season.
Stanton was placed on the 10-day IL on Wednesday as the ailing Yankees made a flurry of roster moves less than an hour before their 2-0 victory over Baltimore in the series finale.
Manager Aaron Boone later clarified the injury to the star’s right lower leg was an inflamed ankle after the team had announced it was a strained calf strain.
“He is feeling pretty good,” Boone said before the game. “I think we hope that he said something early enough to where this doesn’t become long.”
New York also put struggling reliever Jonathan Loaisiga on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 23, with right shoulder inflammation — the latest blow to a depleted bullpen that had shined most of the season.
“Similar to what he dealt with last year. Probably not as severe. So, just feel like it’s probably something that as a precaution, we need to be smart here and take a couple weeks and hopefully that’s all it is,” Boone said. “We believe it’s something hopefully minor. We’re going to treat him symptomatically.”
Joey Gallo was reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list and started at designated hitter. Third baseman Josh Donaldson remained on the COVID-19 list, and All-Star infielder DJ LeMahieu was out of the lineup for the second consecutive night because of left wrist discomfort.
LeMahieu was feeling better after a cortisone shot Tuesday and the team hopes to have him back in a day or two.
Boone said he thought Donaldson was going to receive an IV, and the 2015 AL MVP was feeling better after his fever broke overnight. But the manager wasn’t sure if Donaldson would travel with the Yankees to Florida for a four-game set at AL East rival Tampa Bay that begins Thursday night, or possibly join the club sometime during the series.
The 32-year-old Stanton left Tuesday night’s 7-6, 11-inning win over the Orioles in the seventh and had an MRI on Wednesday. He is hitting .285 with 11 homers and 35 RBIs for the Yankees, who began the night with the best record in the majors at 30-13.
“Adversity’s coming for you even in the best of seasons and you’ve got to be able to weather the storm and have other guys step up in different situations,” Boone said. “Sometimes it’s in short spurts, sometimes it’s longer. That’s part of the grind of the 162-game season. We’re prepared to handle that. We look forward to handling that. The season doesn’t stop for anyone.”
Stanton played in 139 games last year, his highest total since 2018, and batted .273 with 35 homers and 97 RBIs. He was out from May 17-28 with a left quadriceps strain.
New York acquired Stanton, the 2017 NL MVP with Miami, before the 2018 season and he hit .266 with 38 homers and 100 RBIs during his first season in pinstripes.
He was sidelined from April 1 to June 18 in 2019 with a left biceps strain, then from June 26 until Sept. 19 with a sprained right knee. During the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he was out from Aug. 9 until Sept. 15 with a strained left hamstring.
Since 2011, Stanton has been on the injured list in all but the 2014, 2017 and 2018 seasons. A four-time All-Star with the Marlins, he has a .269 career batting average with 358 homers and 928 RBIs.
The hard-throwing Loaisiga, a top setup man last year, is 1-2 with a 7.02 ERA in 18 appearances. He has walked 10 and given up 16 hits — including three homers — in 16 2/3 innings.
“I think the biggest thing with Lo, it’s been a few outings that have hurt him and when you do that early in the year as a reliever, it shows up that way,” Boone said. “But even in those times, he’s not far off as far as his stuff and his repertoire, and really confident that it’ll click once he gets rolling.”
Pitching for the second consecutive day, Loaisiga was tagged with the loss in his most recent outing during the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox. He allowed four earned runs and four hits in two-thirds of an inning.
“After his last (appearance) he was just a little sore, so we’ve kind of slowed him down a little bit and just want to make sure obviously that he’s sound,” Boone said.
Loaisiga was 9-4 with five saves and a career-best 2.17 ERA in 57 games covering 70 2/3 innings last season. The right-hander missed 22 games and about 3 1/2 weeks in September with a shoulder strain.
Word of his injury this time came one day after the Yankees put All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman on the 15-day IL with left Achilles tendinitis, and just a few days after setup man Chad Green went down with a season-ending elbow injury that will require Tommy John surgery.
Veteran lefty Zack Britton is expected to miss the entire season after having Tommy John surgery last September.
“It’s also a great opportunity for people that we’re really excited about to step up and to step into roles,” Boone said. “Look forward to getting Lo back and pitching how we know he’s capable of.”
New York also recalled left-hander JP Sears and right-hander David McKay from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Sears allowed three hits in five innings of work, while striking out five Orioles en route to his first major-league victory.
To make room on the roster before the win, reserve catcher Rob Brantly was designated for assignment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.