Daily Report – 2/18/25

Greetings,

Here is today’s report:

Yankees

Despite a mostly uneventful week in New York sports, the Yankees are making headlines with some noteworthy developments.

First, Giancarlo Stanton reported to Yankees camp on Sunday with tendinitis in both elbows. He said he dealt with “tears in [his] tendon” throughout last season, including the playoffs, and he has not swung a bat in “three or four weeks.” According to Aaron Boone, Stanton's availability for Opening Day is uncertain.

“We want to make sure we’re giving [Stanton’s injury] as much time as it needs, so we’ll probably slow-play him a little bit,” Boone said. “I’m expecting him to be okay.” Last offseason, after the Yankees finished with an 82-80 record, one of the contributing factors was Stanton's health issues. Following the 2023 disaster, general manager Brian Cashman publicly acknowledged Stanton’s fragility, saying that injuries are part of his game. In response, Stanton lost weight, and despite consistent break throughout the regular season, he had a historic postseason performance.

Entering his 15th?MLB season, Stanton understands the importance of self-care more than ever. His current top priority is to get healthy and remain that way as long as possible. The Yankees cannot afford an extended stint on the injured list for Stanton this season, and the best way to support him is to allow his elbows to rest. After all, it’s only February.

Another significant injury reported by the Yankees on Sunday was for Trent Grisham, who pulled his hamstring three weeks ago while training. While he is running “close to” full speed this week, Boone stated that the Yankees are taking it slow with him. Additionally, bench coach Brad Ausmus also pulled his hamstring during a pickup basketball game last week, much like Boone, who suffered an ACL injury in 2004.

Next, Austin Wells has not been swinging his bat during live batting practice sessions. He claims he is “just not ready yet,” but he has been participating in a full-strength indoor hitting program. The Yankees have decided not to play Wells in a live game until at least the end of February, allowing him to approach Spring Training gradually due to his heavy catching workload last season.

Switching gears, Aaron Judge addressed the media yesterday and expressed the team’s eagerness to return to baseball. “Getting to the dance and then losing out on it is definitely a lot worse than not even getting in,” Judge said, comparing the 2024 season to 2023. “Getting a chance to nibble on that final piece and trying to get close to a championship really drives that hunger and passion in guys.” The theme of the 2025 “revenge” season is to “flip the script,” as Judge put it, and return to the World Series.

Whether it's Joe Kelly or Juan Soto, the Yankees can find motivation in the words of their rivals.

Regarding Soto's public comment that he believes he has a better chance to win with the Mets than the Yankees, Judge responded, “That’s his opinion – he can say what he wants. I definitely disagree with him. But I wasn’t too surprised by [him signing with the Mets].” While I won't delve too deeply into Judge’s reaction, I will reiterate a point I often reference: Soto was only interested in the money this offseason. But I digress.

Now that Judge has become a father, he has additional motivation to succeed this season. Beaming with joy, Judge said, “Having a little girl and the chance to have her grow up and watch me do what I love is really special. If I can inspire her through playing this game to do something remarkable, that’s going to be pretty cool.”

Additionally, Greg Joyce reported today that Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm Jr. look like a promising duo, with Volpe playing shortstop and Chisholm playing second base. Although he played the outfield for the Miami Marlins and third base for the Yankees last season, he is a middle infielder at heart who thrives at shortstop and second base. Hopefully, he will succeed at second base this season with minimal errors.

Joyce also noted that Yankees pitching prospect Cam Schlittler (RHP) struck out Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, DJ LeMahieu, and Anthony Volpe in a batting practice session today. He also forced Aaron Judge to ground out, per Chris Kirschner.

Finally, reporters spoke with DJ LeMahieu today, and Greg Joyce described the interview as LeMahieu’s most “colorful” in years. The two-time batting champion is healthy for the first time in months, and, uncharacteristically, he had a lot to tell the media. The interview will be published tonight or tomorrow, but LeMahieu mentioned that he has “lost a lot of sleep, and it’s tough to be a guy that the team can’t rely on at times.” He added that his desire to help the team “keeps [him] going.”

The Yankees will play their first Spring Training game on Friday afternoon when they host the Rays.

Rangers

The Four Nations Face-Off had a highly successful weekend, especially on Saturday night when the United States defeated Canada 3-1. The Tkachuk brothers engaged in fights before the opening faceoff, and JT Miller followed suit less than 10 seconds into the game. The three power forwards had coordinated their fights in a group chat before the match.

The altercations and the subsequent victory came in response to a rowdy Canadian crowd in Montreal, which booed the US national anthem during the pregame ceremonies. The US team stood strong in the face of this disrespect and is set to face Canada again in the championship game of the Four Nations Face-Off in Boston on Thursday night.

During Saturday’s match against Finland, Mika Zibanejad scored the opening goal for Team Sweden. Unfortunately, he was unable to play yesterday due to illness (flu). With various players out due to injuries and illnesses, Chris Kreider had the opportunity to play for Team USA yesterday. He received a loud ovation from his hometown crowd when he was announced as a starter, and he scored just 35 seconds into regulation. Fifteen years ago, during the 2010 World Junior Tournament, Kreider participated in a 3-on-1 play that led to John Carlson’s tournament-winning overtime goal for Team USA against Canada. He now has another special moment to add to his impressive resume.

“It’s special for me. Playing for the Men’s National Team in a best-on-best competition in Boston; if you’d have told me 10 or 15 years ago that I would be in this position, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Kreider told the New York Post. “The entire experience has been a privilege.”

That will do it for this report. Have a good night.