Giancarlo

Stanton

Stanton, 35, will get a break after playing in his first two games back as the designated hitter. The Yankees will likely give the outfielder some maintenance days throughout the 2025 campaign. He’ll take a seat with Jasson Dominguez operating as the DH and hitting eighth.

The double, a hard grounder that went through third baseman Luis Rengifo, led off the bottom of the ninth in a scoreless game. Stanton was then removed for pinch-runner Jasson Domínguez, who was quickly retired on a grounder that reached Rengifo at third at basically the same time Domínguez did, resulting in a little collision and a great tag play from Rengifo. Stanton’s balls in play tonight were hit 101.5, 111.1 and 102.9 mph. He also struck out once.

Stanton is back after missing the first 2 1/2 months with epicondylitis in both of his elbows, but will he help? He certainly did last October, but at this point, he’s a 35-year-old DH with a 105 OPS+ over the last three seasons. The Yankees have a 121 OPS+ as a team this year and have gotten a .275/.369/.576 line from the DH spot. Stanton will probably get a chance to play regularly for now, and he’s worth trying in mixed leagues. Ben Rice will likely lose much of his playing time and could be droppable. Jasson Domínguez and Trent Grisham will also likely lose some at-bats.

It’s unclear if Stanton will be an upgrade over Ben Rice as the Yankees’ primary DH, but it’s going to happen anyway. Trent Grisham and Jasson Domínguez could also lose some playing time. Stanton went 3-for-11 with a double in three games during his rehab assignment for Double-A Somerset. He hit .233/.239/.475 in 114 games last season, which is pretty close to what Rice is doing this year (.227/.311/.460).

Stanton has wrapped up a minor league rehab assignment and will make his long-awaited season debut early this upcoming week at Yankee Stadium against Los Angeles. The 35-year-old veteran slugger’s over-the-fence pop makes him a potential cheap power source in deeper mixed leagues.

That series begins next week, and it could be either Monday or Tuesday according to Boone. It’s remarkable progress for Stanton, as it seemed possible — maybe even probable — that the slugger was going to need surgery on both elbows and miss the 2025 campaign. The 35-year-old will have some rust to shake off even after the rehab assignment, but everyone knows what Stanton is capable of with his prestigious power.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters they’ll determine Stanton’s next steps at some point later this week. The 35-year-old has gone 3-for-7 with four RBI through two games at the outset of his rehab assignment. There should be some clarity regarding how many additional contest he’ll need, but that number might be shorter than anticipated since Stanton obviously won’t require any defensive reps before making it back to New York for his season debut.

New York will need to get creative with veteran Giancarlo Stanton on the precipice of returning to the DH role in the near future if they’re going to keep Rice’s bat in the lineup. There aren’t a ton of avenues to consistent playing time, but the occasional start behind the dish is one of them. It’s also a fascinating wrinkle for fantasy purposes since he would pick up catcher-eligibility in some formats. The 26-year-old slugger hasn’t started a game behind the dish this season and Austin Wells remains firmly entrenched as the club’s starting backstop.

Stanton also drew a walk, reaching base safely in three of his four plate appearances. The 35-year-old veteran slugger figures to be ready to rejoin New York’s lineup by the end of June. He’ll likely need at least another week or two of rehab games to get back up to speed following an extended layoff.

The big fella is finally getting back out onto the field after being sidelined for the entire season with tennis elbow. In both elbows. He’s been working through a hitting progression for a while, so now he’ll need time to regain his rhythm and timing at the plate. With Cody Bellinger now in town and both Trent Grisham and Ben Rice hitting well, it’s unlikely that Stanton returns to a full-time role. He’ll likely start on the short side of a platoon and potentially earn more at-bats from there, but his return would cut into Rice and Grisham’s playing time against lefties.