Boone, Yankees Hope to Have Stanton Back Before End of Month

The slugger was placed on the 10-day injured list on Monday due to a left quad strain.

Aaron Boone and the Yankees hope to have Giancarlo Stanton back before the end of the month.

The slugger was placed on the 10-day injured list Monday with a left quad strain. The I.L. designation is retroactive to Friday, and Boone is targeting a May 25 return when the Yankees begin a home series against Toronto. That is the earliest Stanton can be activated.

Boone added that Stanton has yet to undergo any tests on his injured quad, which kept him out and forced the Yankees to play with a short bench over the weekend. Boone initially suggested that Stanton could avoid the I.L, but the manager said Monday that he still needs a few days to recover.

“At this point, especially with a soft-tissue situation, it wasn’t something we wanted to wait a few more days on,” Boone said, adding that an MRI is under consideration.

Stanton is the third Yankees hitter to be sidelined in the last week, joining Aaron Hicks (torn sheath in left wrist) and Gleyber Torres (COVID I.L.). Boone said that Rougned Odor could possibly be activated Tuesday, which would add some depth and pop to a banged-up roster.

With Stanton out, Boone plans to “get a little creative” with the designated hitter spot. Gary Sánchez, who is swinging the bat better of late, will occupy the slot on Monday night in Texas. The position could also be used to provide Aaron Judge with half days, as he has battled soreness multiple times this season.

Stanton was raking rather well himself before landing on the I.L. He hit .378 (28-74) over his last 18 games, adding six home runs and a 1.121 OPS. He’s familiar with lower-body injuries, though, as he missed chunks of time in 2019 and 2020 because of knee and hamstring problems, respectively.

With that in mind, he and the Yankees are being cautious with this latest issue.

“To his credit – as well as he’s playing and as much as he wants to be out there – I think he also realized it’s something that if he pushed through, it could turn into a longer-term situation,” Boone said. “So better to get out in front of this now.”

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