Yankees Star Dealing With Extraordinary Pain But Still Trying to Play

One New York Yankees slugger is fighting through the pain to make it on the field.

Oct 4, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) reacts after striking out in the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game one of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Giancarlo Stanton is talking like a man who knows the pain is never going away, only managed. Despite incredible pain he's endured from having tennis elbow in both arms, Stanton only has one goal: getting in the box and hitting as much as possible.

However, at Spring Training in Tampa, FL, the reality of the situation is brutally clear. Stanton confessed to Randy Miller of NJ.com that his injury isn't the kind that irritates and goes away by itself. The pain from the tennis elbow in his two arms has remained, even after he rested the whole offseason.

“That’ll never be the case,” Stanton said when asked if the pain might fully disappear.

The most worrying detail is not about baseball at all.

“I can’t open a bottle… I can’t open a bag of chips … a bag of anything. That’s the way it is," he said of his arm.

For a team that has heavily depended on his playoff heroics and still thinks this group can make another deep run in the playoffs, his way of thinking is both motivating and very ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌worrying.

Playing Through Pain, Not Past It

In ‍a case where Stanton's daily activities are already so compromised, it highlights how extreme it is for him to then step into the box and generate some of the highest exit velocities in baseball. Stanton hit a 94.4 mph average last year.

This is merely not pushing through soreness; it's functioning at an elite level in baseball while having a problem that would put most people out of action even in their normal ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌lives.

Feb 16, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) works on base running during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Stanton refuses to use the discomfort and injury as an excuse. The veteran slugger is not looking for sympathy and gets very uncomfortable when people suggest that because he was away for a while, he isn't mentally strong. Even Yankees manager Aaron Boone calls him “the poster child of mentally tough.”

That disconnect is fascinating: the manager sees a warrior, while Stanton believes “the (public) outlook would be that I wouldn’t be (mentally tough) because I’ve missed games.”

Stanton has been told surgery would mean only “a couple months recovery” for a normal person, but he flatly rejects that logic.

“You get the surgery and you can go back to being in the general population in a few months, but my job is to put some of the most force into a batted ball,” he explains, adding that “that’s not going to be fixed in surgery, and I don’t care what any doctor says because they don’t know what’s going on.”

The Yankees will need Stanton in his best shape to maintain their dominant offesnsive showing from 2025 in 2026.

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