As the second half of the season began on Friday night, Giancarlo Stanton inched closer to a return, possibly as soon as next week or sooner.
The Yankees certainly could use him if he can return to the level of production he showed before he strained his hamstring on June 22, something that hasn’t happened in either of the past two seasons since Stanton returned from leg injuries.
Stanton was hitting well in both 2023 and 2022 before landing on the injured list, which hindered his season and caused his production to plummet.
The Yankees will need to do things differently this time to galvanize their core lineup.
“This injury was minor and a little bit different, so we’re hopeful he’ll come back in better shape and hopefully be able to hit the ground running,” manager Aaron Boone said Friday before the start of a four-game series against the Rays in the Bronx. “It’s just something that happened once or twice. It doesn’t define the whole story. I feel like he’s in good shape. I think he is. So we’ve got to believe that.”
Boone said the Yankees plan to meet with Stanton this weekend to determine their next steps before he returns.
As of Friday afternoon, the 34-year-old home run hit inside balls while running the bases, and Boone said Stanton is taking part in full baseball practice.
“He’s definitely really close,” Boone said.
The Yankees have not said whether Stanton will participate in a rehab assignment, even though he will miss about four weeks.
Boone noted the Yankees’ technology — including Trajectory, a pitching machine that simulates actual major league pitchers and their delivery methods, replicating the specific pitches hitters deal with — could be useful in preparing Stanton for his return and for missing rehab games.
Since he won’t have to play on the field, the main criterion will be whether he can get his timing back in a simulated setting, rather than in an actual (minor league) game.
But what the Yankees have done over the past two years hasn’t worked.
Stanton spent six weeks on the disabled list early last season but hit .269 with an .854 OPS in 13 games.
In 88 games since returning after a one-game rehab assignment, he batted just .179 with a .670 OPS and appeared to be trying to avoid re-injury.
In 2022, Stanton hit .285 with an .862 OPS in 40 games before landing on the disabled list with a calf injury.
He was not placed on a rehab assignment because he was due to miss the minimum 10 days, but after his return he batted just .167 with a .748 OPS in 40 games before landing on the disabled list again in late July with Achilles tendinitis.
The injury sidelined him for a month and he played in two rehab games before returning and batting .165 with a .633 OPS over his final 30 games.
Before straining his hamstring last month while running from second base to home plate (he lost weight during the offseason to try to avoid soft-tissue injuries), Stanton was batting .246 with a .795 OPS and 18 home runs in 69 games.
More importantly, he was a consistent threat in the middle of the lineup as the No. 4 or No. 5 hitter against lefties (and some righties).
With Stanton back to his pre-injury level, the Warriors could add depth to the lineup and provide better defense behind Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.
The Yankees’ cleanup hitters entered the second half of this season with a major league-worst OPS of .583, but with Alex Verdugo currently struggling at the position, manager Boone acknowledged that “someone’s got to take that spot.”
“Going through this is especially [Stanton] “We would definitely miss it if he wasn’t out,” Boone said. “We’re excited to have him back.”
