CLEVELAND ¨C The last time the world saw Giancarlo Stanton on the diamond at Progressive Field, he was slugging the Yankees to the World Series with a historic American League Championship Series performance.
On Tuesday, Stanton made his return to that same diamond. And while he won¡¯t play in the Yankees¡¯ matchup against the Guardians, his presence was a win in itself for New York.
Nearly two months after Stanton was initially placed on the injured list with torn tendons in both elbows, the 35-year-old slugger took onfield batting practice at Progressive, marking the first onfield work he has done since he was placed on the IL.
¡°I don¡¯t usually hit on the field, so I¡¯ve been hitting inside,¡± Stanton said on the field after batting practice. ¡°So I wanted to pop out here and get a feel for what my work is inside and build that way.¡±
Stanton said that he ¡°feels good¡± and that his elbows are ¡°getting better,¡± but he wasn¡¯t sure when he¡¯d head out on a rehab assignment.
When the injuries first popped up, Stanton said that he was unable to swing a bat. He went through multiple rounds of batting practice Tuesday, and he was able to hit multiple balls to the warning track despite not being able to give his all on his swings.
Stanton has also been doing some running to work through what he calls his ¡°makeshift Spring Training.¡±
Stanton had previously been hitting off a high-velocity Trajekt machine.
After hitting .233 with 27 home runs in 114 games last year (he missed about a month due to a left hamstring strain), Stanton was on another level in the postseason. He mashed seven home runs during the Yankees¡¯ postseason run - four of which came in their five-game ALCS win over Cleveland. He tallied seven RBIs in the series.
Stanton hit .238 with two homers in the World Series loss to the Dodgers, and he seemed poised to build on that with the revamped 2025 Yankees. But his Spring Training never got off the ground after his injuries popped up in February.
Stanton traveled with the team for the first time last Wednesday on their trip to Tampa to take on the Rays. He said that traveling with the team was another important step in his rehab.
¡°I¡¯m keeping the same schedule, meetings, routines and practice times so I don¡¯t have to do anything different schedule-wise [when I¡¯m back],¡± Stanton said. ¡°It¡¯s the only way I can contribute now, so it¡¯s important that I¡¯m able to do it and stay engaged and help the guys.¡±
While Stanton¡¯s future is still cloudy, seeing him on the field is a tangible example of the work he has put in on his recovery. The Yankees have been able to do well without him (they entered play on Tuesday at 14-9 and in first place in the AL East), but his bat would be an obvious bonus. Stanton has mashed 20 or more home runs 13 of the 14 162-game seasons he has played in (excluding the 2020 Covid-19 season).
The Yankees have mostly used Ben Rice at designated hitter in Stanton¡¯s place (17 starts). Rice went into Tuesday hitting .288 with five home runs in 20 games. He was back in New York¡¯s lineup Tuesday night after dealing with an injury scare when he was hit by a pitch on his left elbow on Saturday, and he homered on the first pitch of the game.
¡°It¡¯s been amazing,¡± Stanton said of Rice. ¡°When you get hit like that, it can mess with you sometimes. It¡¯s awesome to see; even his outs are hard outs. He has a knowledgeable approach.
¡°I saw it in spurts last year, but just putting it together over multiple series, days and weeks is the big difference.¡±