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ESPN Offers Absurd Yankees Prediction After Giancarlo Stanton Injury Update

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Jun 13, 2025 4:35 PM ET

With Giancarlo Stanton's return looming within the coming days, New York Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham will almost certainly see fewer at-bats moving forward.

On the one hand, it's an unfair reality for Grisham, who has already hit 13 homers and is well on pace for his first 20-home run season. However, any hopes he had of joining the 30-homer club are likely over, at least for 2025.

Well, that's what we think. ESPN's Eric Karabell doesn't share the same opinion, writing this week that he believes Grisham can still hit 30 homers.

"He's still drawing walks, still scoring runs (of course he is, batting ahead of Judge) and metrics such as exit velocity and Barrels remain positive, even this month," Karabell explained.

"Grisham is slumping," Karabell continued, "but there is little indication he will lose his valuable lineup spot."

Karabell is right about the slumping part, as Grisham owns just a .215 average in 144 plate appearances dating back to May 1. It's worth noting, though, that Grisham's .712 OPS in that span is exactly league average.

The problem: Karabell seemingly forgot about Stanton, who the Yankees could activate off the IL this weekend.

Giancarlo Keeps Rollin' @Yankees DH Giancarlo Stanton clubs a 110.6 mph double to score top prospect George Lombard Jr.

Stanton is 3-for-4 with 4 RBI across two rehab games with Somerset pic.twitter.com/MCOaE9h2Pp
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) June 11, 2025

Stanton is locked into the DH role, and the Yankees obviously aren't benching Aaron Judge or Cody Bellinger. There's no indication that Aaron Boone will platoon Grisham and Jasson Domínguez, who is hitting only .227 with a .619 OPS since his three-homer game on May 9.

We feel comfortable suggesting that Grisham, at least as a part-time player, will not hit 17 home runs over the next 95 games.

It's one thing for Karabell to reccomend keeping Grisham on your fantasy team. However, expecting Grisham to join the 30-home run club is absurd—unless, of course, one of his fellow outfielders lands on the IL.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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