"Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge has to perform" - Rockies sportscaster urges Yankees stars to step up in Giancarlo Stanton's absence

The New York Yankees' notable players, Giancarlo Stanton and Luis Gil, were injured during Spring Training. Due to their injuries, the duo will miss considerable time at the start of the season.

Stanton didn't practice his swing after joining the Yankees' spring camp last month. He has sustained tennis elbow in both arms and will start the season on the IL.

Reigning AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil followed suit after the Yankees ace complained of shoulder pain during a bullpen session earlier this month. Following an MRI exam last Saturday, Gil has been shut down for six weeks after tests revealed a lat strain.

Following the injuries to two key players in the lineup, Rockies sportscaster Ryan Spilborghs urged Yankees players to step up in a conversation with MLB Network Radio.

"There's a lot on the plate of Cody Bellinger, like a lot," Spilborghs said. He's there for one year, it's $27.5 million and some money's getting picked up by the Cubs. Those players have to perform right, Cody Bellinger has to perform. Aaron Judge has to perform. There are a lot of guys that have to pick up their performance to withstand the loss of Stanton and Gil."

Luis Gil had a breakthrough year for the Yankees last season after he was given a much bigger role following Gerrit Cole's injury in the spring. Giancarlo Stanton didn't have the best regular season, but the veteran slugger stepped up in the postseason, driving the team to the World Series after his ALCS MVP-winning performance against the Guardians.

Giancarlo Stanton's injury could be worse than Yankees feared

The reigning ALCS MVP left the Yankees camp last month to get two rounds of PRP injections in his elbows. However, the All-Star DH is expected to get a third round of injections this week after rejoining the Yankees camp and could miss more game time than earlier expected.

While Stanton was expected to miss the opening months of the 2025 season, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman isn't ruling out a surgery for the former Miami Marlins star.

"It’d be a last resort… I can’t rule out a surgery, but I know it’s not recommended on the front end of this thing," Cashman told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "But obviously if you have a number of different failed attempts then you start looking at different ways of intervention."

It would be interesting to see how the Yankees cope with the Giancarlo Stanton's power. The most likely solution would be moving Aaron Judge to the DH role in the lineup.