The New York Yankees have fielded one of baseball’s best offenses this season and it could get a major boost soon.
Mostly thanks to superstar slugger Aaron Judge, the Yankees are leading Major League Baseball in on-base percentage with a top-two mark in total home runs and slugging percentage so far. And, remarkably, they’ve done it without prolific designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton.
Stanton has yet to make his debut this year as he recovers from a pair of elbow issues, but he’s now projected to return in the near future.
“Word around the Yanks is that Stanton could remain in Tampa over the weekend, then begin a rehab assignment as soon as early next week,” per SNY’s Andy Martino. “If that goes off as planned, it’s reasonable to speculate that Stanton would make his season debut in or around mid-June.”
As Stanton returns to live at-bats at the team’s complex in Florida, the remaining question seems to be whether or not he will undergo a rehab assignment before returning to the big-league roster. Manager Aaron Boone opted not to answer that question on Wednesday afternoon, but Martino offered an educated projection.
“The prediction here is that Stanton will indeed go on a brief rehab,” he added.
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Though fans might have hoped Stanton would step right back into the big-league batter’s box, a “brief” projection for his rehab stint is pretty good news. All told, Yankees fans can hope to see Stanton back in the lineup by the team’s upcoming divisional series against the Baltimore Orioles later this month.
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