HOUSTON — It was only three days ago that Aaron Boone said Giancarlo Stanton wouldn’t play left field at the Astros’ Daikin Park.
“No, I don’t have plans on playing him in left there,” the Yankees manager told reporters on Saturday in Chicago.
Those plans changed in a hurry, as the letters “LF” appeared next to Stanton’s name on the Yankees’ lineup before their series-opener in Houston on Tuesday night. The slugger last played left field on Sept. 14, 2023 at Boston’s Fenway Park.
Stanton returned to right field on Aug. 9 for the first time since Sept. 9, 2023, and he has been regularly playing the position since then after exclusively working as a DH in 2024. That’s because Aaron Judge had been restricted to DH duties since returning from a right flexor strain.
Boone has repeatedly said that Judge, working through a throwing program, is “close” to playing right field, but that he doesn’t have a target date. The skipper repeated those sentiments on Tuesday.
Stanton, limited in his mobility after years of lower-body injuries, had only played right field this season prior to Tuesday. He’s primarily done so at Yankee Stadium, where there is minimal ground to cover. However, he also did so at Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field — which has the same dimensions as Yankee Stadium — and Rate Field, home of the White Sox.
But Daikin Park is less spacious in left, where the Crawford Boxes jut out from the stands and are just 315 feet from home plate. If Judge is not ready for defense by the time the Yankees visit the Red Sox from Sept. 12-14, Stanton would likely play left field in front of Fenway Park’s Green Monster for the same reason.
While Stanton is hardly an elite fielder — he’s at -2 Outs Above Average in right — he’s held his own enough that any opportunity to get his and Judge’s bats in the order is worthwhile.
While Stanton went hitless over 13 plate appearances against Chicago — he was robbed of a home run on Sunday — the 35-year-old entered Tuesday’s game with a .295/.374/.624 slash line, 17 home runs, 46 RBI and a 173 wRC+ over 55 games after lingering tennis elbows delayed the start of his season.
Stanton was also hitting .321/.455/.698 with six homers and 31 RBI over 66 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, further incentivizing the Yankees to use him in the field.
With Stanton in left on Tuesday, Cody Bellinger, the American League Player of the Week, manned right.
