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NEW YORK — The inevitable occurred for the Yankees on Sunday. Giancarlo Stanton, the imposing often-sidelined slugger, was placed on the injured list with a strained left hamstring. Stanton understood his body — and his own history — well enough to know he required a stint on the shelf before he even underwent an MRI, manager Aaron Boone said.

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At this stage of the year, more than any streak or slump, more than any breakout or blowup, injuries alter the trajectory of the season. This past week saw a variety unfold for teams with championship aspirations, from Los Angeles to Chicago to Atlanta to Tampa Bay to New York. Even in Boston, where the team harbored less realistic playoff hopes, the broken wrist of Adam Duvall thinned a roster that could not afford to lose many more proven players.

The individual injuries often matter less than the responses. Teams can crumble as pivotal players go down. Or they can promote players who capitalize on the opportunity.

The 2016 Royals never recovered from the collision that injured Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas. The 2017 Dodgers had a losing record when Joc Pederson injured his groin in late April. A day later, the team called up a talented prospect with a violent swing: Cody Bellinger. He won the National League Rookie of the Year award, and the team won 104 games. The team had not intended to utilize Bellinger so early in the year. Then Andre Ethier hurt his back, Logan Forsythe broke his toe and Pederson hurt his groin. Then, as they say: History.

The current landscape is rife with similar moments of uncertainty. Will teams fold? Will new stars emerge? The narrative of the season depends on the outcomes.

Some injuries are more predictable than others. The fractured ankle of Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz qualified as a shock. The strained hamstring of Rangers shortstop Corey Seager, who had dealt with a variety of ailments during his tenure in Los Angeles, did not. The Mets understood the risk of building a rotation around 38-year-old Max Scherzer (who will skip his next start with soreness in his back and scapular area) and 40-year-old Justin Verlander (who has yet to make his debut in Queens as he recovers from a shoulder strain).

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The Yankees have learned to live with the same risk with Stanton. When healthy, he has hit as expected, with a 129 OPS+. But he has appeared in only 461 games since the Yankees acquired him from the Marlins after he won the National League MVP award in 2017. Stanton injured his ankle and his Achilles last summer. He dealt with a strained quadriceps in 2021. A strained hamstring limited him in 2020. All of this pales compared to 2019, the final season of Stanton’s 20s, when a biceps strain and a knee sprain sidelined him for all but 18 games.

“There’s no good timing for it,” Boone said. “I know he’s really frustrated.”

With Stanton out, the Yankees called up Oswald Peraza, one of their top prospects. Peraza is expected to be a placeholder until veteran third baseman Josh Donaldson returns from a strained hamstring of his own. The Yankees are already reeling from dings to starter Carlos Rodón, outfielder Harrison Bader and starter Luis Severino, among others. The club leads the sport with 12 players on the injured list. But several other teams aren’t far behind.

The leaguewide onslaught of injuries, starting with Stanton, is just one observation from the week that was in baseball. Here are eight others.

2. Reason for Rays worry?

Baseball can be quite the fickle beast. On Thursday morning, the Rays were undefeated and undaunted. By Sunday morning, they had lost two games in a row — and more troubling, lost two important pitchers. Reliever Ryan Thompson told The Tampa Bay Times he expected to miss only a short amount of time with a strained lat. But Jeffrey Springs’s left elbow is far more worrisome.

Springs, 30, is a prototypical Rays success story. Tampa Bay turned him from a journeyman into a millionaire, lavishing a $31 million deal upon him this spring after he posted a 2.46 ERA in 2022. Springs was building off that output when he felt something in his elbow on Thursday against Boston. The initial diagnosis was inflammation of the ulnar nerve, with Springs expected out for at least two months. And he could be out for longer, if the damage to his elbow is found to be more severe.

Tampa Bay tends to roll with the punches when players go down. But the team is already digging deep into its bag. Zach Eflin is nursing a lower back issue. Tyler Glasnow has still not yet pitched this season. The Rays will likely turn to 22-year-old top prospect Taj Bradley, who lasted five innings in his big-league debut last week against Boston. Otherwise, Tampa Bay may return to its famed formula of smoke, mirrors and openers for a while. It’s a good thing the club banked those 13 consecutive wins. In the hyper-competitive American League East, they will need them.

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3. A door opens in Atlanta

Remember that little nugget up top about Bellinger’s debut? In time, this past week could be considered a similar milestone for the Braves and Vaughn Grissom. Atlanta has dealt with a succession of health problems already: Max Fried, Michael Harris II, Travis d’Arnaud, Raisel Iglesias and Collin McHugh are all banged up. Ian Anderson underwent Tommy John surgery.

To add to the tumult, last week Atlanta lost its shortstop. The team chose Orlando Arcia, a bench player for the past few years, to start the season at the position after Dansby Swanson’s departure. Arcia won the spring competition over Grissom, who posted a .792 OPS last season but faded down the stretch. The Braves even inked Arcia to an extension that keeps him under team control through 2026. Arcia was raking to start the year — until he suffered a microfracture of his wrist when Reds starter Hunter Greene hit him with a fastball.

And so Grissom will get another crack at shortstop. He hit well during his brief time in the minors this year. The Braves will be more curious to see if he can maintain the range to handle defense at the position. If he can, he’ll only be another young, talented player at the disposal of manager Brian Snitker.

4. Can’t catch a break in LA

No longer do the Dodgers boast the sort of lineup that can afford to lose potential All-Stars. So they will miss the presence of catcher Will Smith, who was placed on the seven-day injured list with a concussion Sunday. The move was retroactive to last Thursday, so his time away could be brief. But the Dodgers were motivated enough by Smith’s absence to sign catcher Austin Wynns in time for a series finale against the Cubs. Smith was hitting .333 with three home runs and a 1.058 OPS.

5. Same old Sox story

For quite some time, the White Sox have boasted a homegrown core that should be the envy of their rivals. But that envy has been more theoretical than anything else. It is not for a lack of talent, and it is not for a lack of trying. But the quartet of Tim Anderson, Eloy Jiménez, Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert Jr. just cannot stay on the field together.

Jimenez appeared in only 139 games between 2021 and 2022. Robert played in 166. Anderson strained his groin and later required hand surgery. Moncada dealt with problems to his hamstrings and obliques. The same old story recorded another chapter last week: Anderson sprained his knee and Moncada hurt his back (just as Jiménez was returning from a hamstring issue).

The White Sox have not gotten off to a strong start. The team dropped its first four series. Minnesota is playing well. The Guardians may have the most talent in the division. The White Sox need to get healthy to keep up.

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6. A Sale, but who’s buying?

Chris Sale was not the best pitcher in the 2010s, but he was certainly the best to never win the Cy Young Award. This feels like faint praise, but he competed in an era that featured Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, David Price and Corey Kluber. Sale was awesome, even if he never collected that particular piece of hardware. From 2012 to 2018, his prime with the White Sox and Red Sox, Sale accumulated more wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, than any pitcher besides Clayton Kershaw and Scherzer. He posted a 2.91 ERA during those seasons, with 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings. He made seven consecutive All-Star teams.

The past few years have been far less prosperous for Sale. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020. A stress fracture in his ribcage derailed his comeback campaign in 2022. That July, in his second game back, he suffered a broken finger after getting smoked by a line drive. Then he broke his wrist while riding a bike. This past spring, he admitted his exasperation with his inability to live up to the expectations of the five-year, $145 million extension he signed after the team won the World Series in 2018.

He has yet to break down in 2023. But little else has gone right. Baltimore mauled him for seven runs in a three-inning outing. He held the Tigers to three runs in five innings his next time out. But then Tampa Bay hung six runs on him in four innings. The underlying data is not encouraging: Sale’s fastball velocity is down, his hard-hit rate is up and he isn’t missing barrels.

Given the cavalcade of injuries, Sale’s unsightly start does not qualify as a shock. He turned 34 in March. His spindly frame always worried evaluators about his long-term prospects; those evaluators turned out to be wrong, of course, about how long it would take him to break down. It is hard to stay atop the mountain, especially after four years marred by infirmity.

7. As the Mets turn

The salaries and stature of Scherzer and Verlander demand attention. The Mets are banking on the eventual health of the duo. A more intriguing duo to monitor, though, over the next few weeks will be a pair of prospects: Francisco Álvarez and Brett Baty. The Mets have reached the stage of their franchise overhaul where they are trying to incorporate rookies into their well-paid big-league operation. Neither player made much noise in the majors last season. Now it will be up to manager Buck Showalter to continue finding at-bats for both players despite concerns about Álvarez’s readiness behind the plate and Baty’s competence at third base.

8. Judge v. Ohtani, The Sequel

The Angels come to The Bronx this week. Shohei Ohtani is not lined up to pitch, but he will be in the lineup.

Here is an early snapshot of the MVP rematch:

Judge: .286/.388/.589, five home runs, eight RBI.

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Ohtani the hitter: .288/.383/.500, three home runs, eight RBI.

Ohtani the pitcher: 2-0, 0.47 ERA, 19 innings, 24 strikeouts.

The verdict so far: Tie goes to the great hitter who is also a great pitcher. The Angels, however, are under .500 after dropping three in a row to Boston.

9. OK, The Clock Is Not Perfect, Part 2

Cody Bellinger’s return to Dodger Stadium on Friday produced a hearty ovation for the former National League MVP. That ovation produced a subsequent clock violation.

Oops.

The snafu prompted an outraged call from Scott Boras, Bellinger’s agent, to the commissioner’s office, the Los Angeles Times reported. Turns out, teams have to put in a request before the games to get dispensation for those moments. Alas, one downside to the clock: More paperwork.

(Top photo: Elsa / Getty Images)

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