BOSTON — The Yankees will be hoping for a much-needed boost in their batting lineup when they take on the team with the best record in baseball.
The team hopes to have Giancarlo Stanton back off the disabled list when the series against the Phillies opens in Philadelphia on Monday.
The 34-year-old slugger will not travel with the Yankees on this weekend’s trip to Fenway Park, instead returning to the Bronx to continue training and building up his stamina in preparation for his return from a hamstring injury.
Manager Aaron Boone has yet to say whether Stanton will return for a rehab assignment, but that seems unlikely at this point.
“He’s done pretty much everything he’s needed to do,” Boone said before Friday’s 9-7 loss to the Red Sox. “Now it’s just a matter of gradually increasing the volume. The thing you have to look at when you’ve been out a while rehabbing, obviously he’s not on the field, so we’re not going to look at that.” [simulate that]But we want to increase that volume.
“It’s one thing to be able to do that, but when you’re training for a race or a marathon, you’ve got to build endurance. Now it’s about stacking volume days and seeing how my recovery is going.”
The Yankees’ lineup has missed Stanton sorely, with few outside of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto having made an impact since he was sidelined with a soft-tissue injury.
Before his injury, Stanton was batting .246 with 18 homers and a .795 OPS, and the Yankees need that Stanton, not the one who looked far from his usual self the past two seasons as he returned from leg injuries.
Boone said the Yankees are in no rush to bring Stanton back because of the struggling hitting lineup.
“If that’s the case, we would rush him out there today,” Boone said. “He’s probably at that point physically, but we want to make sure he’s in really good shape and ready to have the best opportunity to not only be successful but to sustain it.”
Jason Dominguez is officially back in the game, at least for now, in Triple-A.
The Yankees’ top outfield prospect has been bothered by an oblique strain since June 15 but returned from the disabled list on Friday against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Dominguez went one hit, two RBIs and two strikeouts in four at-bats as the designated hitter, so it’s expected to take at least a few games for the Yankees to promote him.
“When I first started playing after coming back from Tommy John surgery, [earlier this season]”He started off right away well,” Boone said, “so hopefully it will be the same. Obviously, he’s a guy we’re keeping an eye on.”
While the Yankees were quiet, other teams in the AL East were in the midst of trade activity on Friday, with the Orioles acquiring right-handed pitcher Zach Eflin from the Rays, the Red Sox acquiring left-handed pitcher James Paxton, the Rays trading outfielder Randy Arozarena to the Mariners and the Blue Jays sending relief pitcher Yimi Garcia to the Mariners.
“You’re paying attention to everything,” Boone said. “Everything is exciting and surprising and anxious, but at the same time, you want to get through that day, or five days, with a feeling of, ‘Right, here we go, here’s what we’ve got. Let’s go.'”
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake was not with the team on Friday because he and his wife welcomed their first child, a baby girl.
He could be back with the team by Sunday or Monday.
“Mother and baby are doing well,” Boone said.
