With Aaron Judge only expected to DH when he first returns from a right flexor strain, Giancarlo Stanton will dust off his glove.
Stanton has not played defense since 2023, but he will get some work in the outfield with Judge hitting the IL on Sunday. The Yankees’ hope is that Judge will only be gone for 10 days before they can reinsert his bat into the lineup, but he will be shut down from throwing for 10-14 days, as flexor strains can be a precursor to ulnar collateral ligament injuries if not treated properly. From there Judge will ramp up his throwing program before returning to the outfield.
In the meantime, Stanton’s job is to knock off any defensive rust he has so that he can make himself a viable outfield option once Judge comes off the IL. After talking to Aaron Boone, Stanton said he’s ready for whatever helps the Yankees win.
“I believe that’s going to be for me to be in the outfield,” the slugger continued Saturday. “I’ll be working out there this coming week and be ready when needed.”
Stanton, 35, primarily played right field for the Marlins from 2010-2017, but he has spent the vast majority of his Yankees career as a DH due to a slew of lower-body injuries that have forced the former MVP to be overly cautious.
Now Stanton also has lingering tennis elbow injuries that require consistent maintenance. However, Boone isn’t worried about defensive work making Stanton’s elbows worse.
“If there’s things that come up, then we’ll adjust,” the manager said. “But I’m not anticipating that.”
If Stanton does return to the outfield in a game, it would presumably be in right at Yankee Stadium, as that’s the least spacious spot in the Bronx.
He said that he’s missed playing defense and that it will be “good to be back out there.” He added that he did some defensive drills and threw during his elbow rehab.
“It’s not going to be like I’ve never been out there before,” Stanton said.
On Saturday, Judge made it known that he wanted to avoid the IL and start DH’ing right away. However, Boone said Judge “understands that [going on the IL] is the best thing for him and for us right now.”
Boone was asked if Judge can DH right now without hurting himself more, and if he’s not because Stanton isn’t ready for the field yet.
“So there’s the feeling that if he just DH’d now that he probably would not compromise his UCL,” Boone said. “Obviously, throwing would. That said, there is a gripping [the bat] component to it and it’s probably — obviously not like the defensive side — somewhat affecting him offensively too. And then there’s the G component too. So I think when you add it all up, this makes the most sense to give this time to calm down a little bit, hopefully heal, and then hopefully put us in a better position long-term.”
In a follow-up, Boone was asked if the Yankees would be better off with Judge’s bat right now considering the struggling team is six games back of the Blue Jays in the American League East.
“[Swinging] wouldn’t hurt it, but I would say [Judge is] somewhat marginally compromised,” Boone replied. “So what does that lead to? Does it lead to diminished performance? Does it lead to a bad habit, something like that? So that’s part of the equation too.”
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