Yankees Slugger Changes Body After Rock-Bottom Season

The New York Yankees need bounce back seasons from many players all over their roster.

Outside of Gerrit Cole, who won the AL Cy Young award, there really wasn't anyone who should be content with their performance on the field.

Perhaps nobody needs to put together a strong performance more than their star slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

The 2017 NL MVP has had a rocky tenure since joining the Yankees, and last year was easily the worst he's had in his career.

Stanton slashed an abysmal .191/.275/.420 with an OPS+ of 87 and only 24 homers with 60 RBI.

Health has been the biggest issue for the slugger.

He's only played in more than 110 games twice since coming to New York, having become a regular on the injured list, including missing two months with a hamstring injury last year.

To combat this, Stanton has changed his body heading into 2024.

The slugger reportedly came into camp much leaner with the hope that less weight on his frame would reduce injury.

"Stanton focused on improving his mobility, on adding explosiveness, on becoming more of a spark on the diamond," writes Jorge Castillo of ESPN.

Sure, that could help, but it will also come down to how he is actually performing when standing in the batter's box.

Plate discipline issues have always been a factor in his game.

But, he's made some tweaks to try and fix that as well.

"Stanton has also made a small change in the batter's box. He's moved his hands slightly closer to his body to stay on inside pitches more," reports Castillo.

If these tweaks actually works remains to be seen.

Everyone is hoping that the star can find his form and put together an incredible season for the Yankees as he still has four years and $128 million left on his contract.

New York decided to go out and add more pieces to this roster so they aren't reliant on the slugger for them to have success.

The coaching staff thinks that his process is much improved heading into the year with manager Aaron Boone hoping his new appearance helps him stay healthy and become more of an option in the field and on the basepaths.

Stanton needs to produced for the Yankees if they want to win a championship.

Hopefully these changes can help him make that happen.