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Yankees Offer Significant Giancarlo Stanton Injury Update Sunday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Apr 13, 2025 3:18 PM ET

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone sounds like a man expecting to see Giancarlo Stanton crushing homers soon.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game against the San Francisco Giants, Boone provided a significant update on his star designated hitter’s recovery from elbow issues. Stanton reported to spring training battling tennis elbow in both arms and has been out since mid-February.

Although the Yankees still don’t have an exact timetable for Stanton’s potential return, Boone told reporters that the five-time All-Star is “getting close” to taking legitimate swings. According to the New York Daily News, Stanton is “still mainly hitting off the Trajekt machine.”

Boone said Stanton is with the team in New York this weekend.

Boone and the Yankees are no strangers to playing without Stanton, who has regularly spent time on the injured list across his seven Yankees seasons. He’s played over 120 games only once since 2019, and he missed time the last two years with hamstring injuries.

A healthy Stanton dominated last year’s postseason, winning ALCS MVP and smashing seven home runs in 14 games. Incredibly, the 35-year-old did so while playing through those same arm injuries.

Ben Rice started 12 of the Yankees’ first 14 games at designated hitter, counting Sunday afternoon’s showdown with the Giants. It is unclear if Stanton would serve as the full-time DH upon returning or if he’d platoon with Rice, a lefty who mashed four home runs over the season’s first two weeks.

Don’t expect to see Stanton too much in the outfield, though. He only DH’d last year, and the Yankees don’t seem especially inclined to give him a glove again.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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