The Yankees have struggled lately, but some reinforcements appear to be on the way. Manager Aaron Boone announced Giancarlo Stanton will play two rehab games for Double-A Somerset this weekend, both as the designated hitter.
“We’ll eventually get to that point [of getting him in the outfield],” Boone said, via ESPN’s Joon Lee. “But first things first, want to get him in the DH spot, just get him back in, and then we’ll... kind of like we did last year, where we built on the run—the outfield reps, we’ll hopefully make that a part at some point, but not immediately.”
Boone added that Stanton will face starting pitcher Luis Severino in live batting practice on Tuesday.
Stanton has been on the injured list since July 26 with tendinitis in his left Achilles tendon. Without him, New York has gone 7-16 in their last 23 games, but they still remain nine games ahead of the Blue Jays and Rays for first place in the AL East.
In the 80 games of the season, Stanton earned an All-Star appearance with 24 home runs and 61 RBIs on an .807 OPS.
Additionally, without Stanton, the Yankees have a team OPS of .690, including a .388 slugging percentage, both of which are in the bottom half of the league over that span.
