Boone says there is ‘good chance’ Stanton makes OF return Saturday

NEW YORK — Giancarlo Stanton is nearing a return to the outfield for the first time in nearly two years, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Friday.

Stanton has had his playing time limited while the Yankees have used slugger Aaron Judge as the designated hitter while working his way back from a flexor tendon strain in his right elbow.

Stanton was not in the lineup for the third straight game on Friday as the Yankees opened a three-game series against the AL West-leading Houston Astros, but he came in as a pinch-hitter in the tenth.

Stanton could be back in the lineup soon.

“Good chance you could see it tomorrow,” Boone said Friday.

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Stanton has not played the outfield since September 14, 2023, at Boston. He last appeared in the outfield at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 9, 2023, against Milwaukee.

Stanton started at DH for 32 games after missing the first 70 games of the season due to inflammation in the tendons of both elbows. His only appearance since Judge returned from his injury came as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning Tuesday, when he grounded into a double play.

Stanton spent about 45 minutes Friday during batting practice fielding soft fly balls and grounders from third base coach Luis Rojas. Rojas hit fly balls to Stanton from near first and second base before finishing the session hitting fly balls from near the first base side of mound.

“He’s always been a quality outfielder,” Boone said. “Some range is going to be limited obviously, but I do feel like he’ll make the plays that need to be made,

Stanton was joined in the outfield by Judge, who began a throwing program Wednesday. Judge made soft throws from about 90 feet along with fielding fly balls and will continue building up before returning to the outfield.

Since being acquired from the Marlins in Dec. 2017, Stanton has not played more than 72 games in the field and has played just 71 games as an outfielder since the start of the 2022 season.

“There’s always risk when you go play the game,” Boone said. “We wouldn’t put him in a situation if we felt there was big time risk. That said, anything’s possible, but I do feel like he’s in a good place to do it on a limited basis and that’s why we’ve kind of spent the week, 10 days, kind of ramping it up and seeing how he’s doing with it, seeing how feels about it.

“He’s usually very blunt and honest about if he feels he can do it or not. It’s never risk-free, but I do feel like he should be in a position to handle it on a limited basis.”

Stanton is hitting .268 with 10 homers and 28 RBI in 37 games this season. He hit four homers in nine games during Judge’s absence.

Stanton has not played a full season since 2018, the first year after the Yankees acquired him from Miami. Before his season debut on June 16, he had missed 364 of 940 games since the beginning of the 2019 season.

The 35-year-old appeared in 114 games last season, hitting .233 with 27 homers and 72 RBI, then had seven homers in 14 postseason games and was voted the MVP of the AL Championship Series.

Given a then-record $325 million, 13-year contract by the Marlins, Stanton had 59 homers and 132 RBI in 2017, winning the NL MVP award. He was traded to the Yankees and had 38 homers and 100 RBI in his first season in the Bronx.

He missed time because of a strained right biceps and strained posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee (2019), strained left hamstring (2020), strained left quadriceps (2021), right ankle inflammation and left Achilles tendinitis (2022) and strained left hamstring (2023 and 2024).

The Associated Press was used in this report.