The Yankees are ready to accept this harsh reality from Giancarlo Stanton

The Yankees and Aaron Boone were willing to accept Giancarlo Stanton's lack of speed in order to limit his risk of injury and get him through the regular season.

The same applies in the playoffs.

The oft-injured Stanton, who has battled calf, hamstring and quadriceps problems over the past five seasons, may have cost the Yankees two runs in Sunday's win over Kansas City when he failed to score from the start on Oswaldo Cabrera's double to right center or hit a chopper to third with Juan Soto at third to end the sixth.

“We kind of have to live with that,” Boone said on a Zoom call from Yankee Stadium on Sunday. “Whether you’ve seen it over the years with a particular player who is incredibly slow but who is an impactful player, we have to live with that.”

Boone and Stanton don't want to put the 34-year-old in further danger of missing time, even in October when every out is more valuable.

In 2019, Stanton suffered a quadriceps injury that cost him three straight games in the ALCS against the Astros, and he was limped when he returned for Game 5 and was forced to sit out again in the deciding Game 6.

“He’s got to do what he’s got to do,” Boone said. “He tries to reach his top speed as smoothly as possible.”

According to Statcast, Stanton has long had one of the slowest sprint speeds in the league, and that continued this season.

His 5.07 seconds to first base during the regular season were the slowest of his career and third slowest in the majors, behind only catchers Ali Sanchez and Yasmani Grandal.

But his overall sprint speed of 24.5 feet per second was only the 19th worst in the MLB, with many other slow catchers, first basemen and DHs ahead of Stanton.

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“It's a controlled walk that he knows he has to take,” Boone said. “He burned himself trying to accelerate or throttle back. Then he knows he’s been caught (before).”

The running style helped Stanton play in more games and have more plate appearances last season – with a higher OPS – than any other since 2021.

Even with the extra precaution and a slimmed down body, Stanton still missed over a month last season with a hamstring strain.

But the Yankees have seen the damage his bat can do this time of year, with a career OPS of .932 in the postseason.