Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton has left spring training for medical testing in New York, according to multiple reports.
NJ.com said Stanton was not at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa on Sunday and had returned to New York with The New York Post confirming the news Monday.
Stanton has not swung a bat in weeks due to tennis elbow in both arms.
Manager Aaron Boone said last week there is no timetable for when Stanton will resume baseball activities.
Stanton spoke to reporters last Monday and said he wasn't sure if he would be ready for opening day.
“The pain was very high in general,” Stanton said. “Tennis elbow or however they call it, is tears in your tendon, so it’s not when did it feel good, when did it feel bad? There's always the pain level there and you got to deal with that. So, yeah, it’s just the wisest point to give time right now.”
The five-time all-star batted .233 with 27 homers and 72 RBIs in 114 games last season. Stanton missed over a month of action after sustaining a strained left hamstring in late June.
He hit .273 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in the post-season and helped the Yankees reach the World Series for the first time since 2009.
Stanton, who turned 35 last November, said he dealt with elbow pain last season.
“Definitely not just soreness. It’s a manageable thing,” he said. “That's how the year last year and this year will go.”
The Yankees begin the regular season March 27 at home against the Milwaukee Brewers.
-- With files from The Associated Press.
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