New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton could still return.
With all of the hoopla surrounding the imminent return of Aaron Judge, New York Yankees fans have overlooked another critical bit of information: Giancarlo Stanton has not been entirely ruled out for the season yet.
Over the weekend, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Stanton has been hitting and said "we'll see" as far as a potential return for the slugger, per Gary Phillips of The New York Daily News.
Getting Judge back into the lineup is obviously game-changing. If Stanton returns as well, then New York's World Series hopes increase even further.
Now, Stanton has not played since April 24, as lingering calf issues have kept him sidelined. And like Judge, he probably won't be going through any sort of rehab stint. That's especially considering the minor-league regular season is ending soon, anyway (although Stanton could theoretically play in the minor-league playoffs).
Regardless, Stanton skipped rehab last year and posted a .944 OPS in 77 games, so it seems relatively safe to say that the 36-year-old wouldn't need it.
But just imagine how much the Yankees' lineup would transform if Stanton returns, too?
Obviously, this is a major "if" with Stanton. He hasn't been able to run the bases without getting injured over the last few months, so we don't know if he will even be physically capable of playing. But he might be able to contribute in a bench role.
It seems pretty clear that New York is locked into Ben Rice as the DH at the moment. But if the right-handed Stanton returns, the Yankees could roll with a platoon. Rice would likely stay in the starting lineup regardless, but he could play first base, Luis Garcia Jr. could sit and Stanton could slide into the DH slot.
It's a case of "I'll believe it when I see it" when it comes to Stanton, but the fact that the Yankees have not entirely X'd out his name when it comes to a potential 2026 return is absolutely noteworthy.
Judge could return as soon as New York's three-game set against the Colorado Rockies this week. Is it possible that Stanton could follow not long after? As Boone said, we'll see.
