KANSAS CITY -- For the first time since the 2024 World Series, Giancarlo Stanton returned to the diamond for game action.
The Yankees' slugger didn’t appear in Spring Training and was placed on the IL with epicondylitis in both elbows on March 26 (retroactive to March 24) before getting transferred to the 60-day IL on May 1. But over two months later, Stanton began his rehab stint with Double-A Somerset on Tuesday, batting second as the designated hitter. He went 2-for-3 with a walk in his first game with the Patriots, driving in three runs on two singles.
"Just singles? He’ll figure it out, don’t worry,” Aaron Judge joked after the Yankees’ 10-2 win over the Royals Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium in which he hit a 469-foot homer that landed on top of Kansas City's Hall of Fame building in left field.
Stanton’s elbow issues also bothered him during the 2024 season and hindered his offseason preparations, but he has been working out at the Yankees’ player development complex the past few weeks in preparation for his rehab stint.
"For [Stanton], just getting his body built up and being in a position to where he knows he’s had enough at-bats and enough reps to be game-ready, to be season-ready,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees' game in Kansas City on Tuesday night. "He’s had a pretty big ramp-up. He’s had a lot of at-bats already, even going into his rehab start [Tuesday], so just making sure he’s had the necessary reps and he feels really good about when he’s ready to join us -- that he’s Big G.”
The Yankees aim on Stanton playing again on Wednesday for Somerset as well, but the plan for Thursday and beyond is still uncertain. Boone said that Stanton’s return to the big leagues will be a collaborative decision between the team and their 35-year-old designated hitter.
"... And we will see about Thursday, if he’ll play again, or what we want to do for the weekend,” Boone said. “We’re just kind of taking it in these two-day increments.
When asked if Stanton could return for the Yankees’ first trip to Fenway Park in 2025 on Friday, Boone was noncommittal.
"I don’t know about that," Boone said. “I haven’t gotten that far with it yet.”
Stanton could provide a boost to what is already a power-heavy lineup. Heading into play Tuesday, the Yankees lead the Major Leagues in home runs (105), on-base percentage (.344), slugging (.466), OPS (.810) and walks (262).
And that’s without Stanton, who hit just .233 but clubbed 27 homers in 114 games last season before reaching another level in the postseason. The five-time All-Star smacked seven homers and mashed to a 1.048 OPS over 14 games in the 2024 playoffs to earn American League Championship Series MVP honors during the Yankees’ run to an AL pennant.
"I can’t wait. Everyone in this room can’t wait to see him,” Judge said. “… He’s a big part of this team. He means a lot on the field, but also in this clubhouse. He’s such a leader, such a mentor to a lot of the guys, especially the younger guys, so it’ll be nice to get him back.”
Ben Rice has been holding down the designated hitter position well for Stanton in his absence, blasting 12 homers to go with a .913 OPS in the DH role. But he’s cooled off of late, slashing .206/.247/.368 in his past 20 games entering Tuesday.
The Yankees also plan to begin Marcus Stroman’s rehab assignment with Somerset on Wednesday, marking the first time he will pitch in a game since April 11. He tossed 40 pitches during a live bullpen session on Thursday at Yankee Stadium, with New York planning to build him back up as a starter.
But similar to Stroman, the Yankees won’t rush back Stanton either.
"My biggest thing is [Stanton] knows himself so well, he knows what he needs as far as live reps, the machine stuff he does, the Trajekt stuff he does and then building up his body to be able to move the way he needs too,” Boone said.
“He’s a pretty good evaluator of that and usually doesn’t rush things even if there’s that [sense of], ‘We need him, we need him, we need him.’ Of course, we always need him. But he knows what he needs to feel with his body.”