When Giancarlo Stanton injured his left calf while working to return from an initial right calf injury, it was believed his season was over.
The New York Yankees did not officially rule out his return, but the odds looked slim. However, Stanton was seen doing some running and agility work on the field on Tuesday, and it suddenly raises the question of what the team would do if he’s available.
Stanton has battled injuries his entire Yankees tenure, and he does not like going on rehab assignments anyways. He should be able to find his timing in the cage and hitting off the machine if he gets healthy. However, whether the Yankees add him to a postseason roster or not may depend on Aaron Judge.
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The Yankees have already said that they are not planning for Judge to be available for the Wild Card Series. However, if he is available down the line, he may only be able to serve as a designated hitter. If that’s the case, the Yankees may only be able to use Stanton as a pinch hitter, which is not the worst thing.
However, if Judge is not healthy and Stanton is, the Yankees should strongly consider starting Stanton at designated hitter. This would potentially take some at-bats away from Luis Garcia Jr., but Stanton is a huge bat to have in the postseason, even if he is home run or bust in every plate appearance.
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The Yankees saw in 2024 what kind of impact he can have. He hit seven home runs on the Yankees’ way to the World Series. The only question is whether the Yankees trust him to rake after so much time off.
