We haven’t seen Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman and slugger Giancarlo Stanton on a big league field together since Sept. 25, 2024. But both were in action Wednesday for the Double-A Somerset Patriots as part of their respective rehab assignments.
Stroman, making his first rehab start since landing on the injured list April 12 with left knee inflammation, pitched 3 1/3 innings, struck out four and allowed one earned run on only one hit to the Portland Sea Dogs, the Red Sox’s Double-A affiliate.
"It felt good, man, just to be at a point where it's just free and easy, not really thinking about my knee or body or mechanics or anything,” Stroman said. “Yeah, it just felt really good to be back.”
The veteran right-hander threw 27 of his 46 pitches for strikes. Eight of his 10 outs were either groundouts or strikeouts.
Stroman is being built up to be a starter again and said he expects to make another rehab start next week, although he’s not sure exactly when or at what level.
"Got to get my pitch count up,” he said. “I felt good going back out there. I felt like I was able to hold my velocity, my pitch shape. Just kind of getting back into it, but my body, my mechanics are still great.”
Stanton, who went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in his first rehab game with Somerset on Tuesday, backed Stroman in the first inning by lining an RBI double to right-center that scored shortstop George Lombard Jr., the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect, from first base. Stanton later hit a broken-bat groundout to third base in the third inning, struck out swinging in the fifth and flied out to right in the seventh.
"I watched Giancarlo’s ABs last night; they looked really good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday. “I texted with him a little bit, and he felt good about it. Moving in a good direction."
MLB’s active home run leader with 429 dingers, Stanton has been on the IL all season long due to epicondylitis in both elbows, an issue that has affected him since last season. Boone indicated that Stanton will likely rest on Thursday, and the plan for him this weekend is still uncertain.
While the Yanks won’t rush either player back to the Majors, there is a possibility that Stroman and Stanton could return to the Bronx before the end of the month.
Brian Murphy is a reporter for MLB.com.