Giancarlo Stanton Injury Update: Aaron Boone shares positive update on Yankees slugger returning to lineup this week

There's good news for New York Yankees fans, as Giancarlo Stanton is set to return from his injury layoff this week. As per reports from Bryan Hoch, who covers the Yankees for MLB Network, the 32-year-old slugger has been touted by manager Aaron Boone to return to the lineup against the Philadelphia Phillies in their next series.

Giancarlo Stanton has been out of the Yankees lineup since June 22 due to a hamstring strain. He was initially expected to be out of action for a month but was given an extra week to fully prepare himself for his comeback.

"He'll probably be back -- we're shooting for Monday in Philly, but we'll see also how these next couple of days go, too. I know he's doing a heavy day back there today, so let's get through that and see where we're at," Boone said.

"He's pretty much done everything he needs to do. Now it's about building, though, building a little bit of volume. Obviously, he doesn't play the field that much, but you've got to build up that volume," he added.

Reccurring injury issues have regularly plagued Giancarlo Stanton during his time with the Yankees.

Stanton has only played 419 games for the team since the start of the 2019 season. He suffered a similar hamstring injury last year and struggled mightily with the bat on his return, ending with the worst season of his career in 2023, slashing .191/.275/.420 with 87 OPS+.

However, Giancarlo Stanton was going through a renaisance in 2024 before he got pushed into the IL. The 2019 National League MVP was batting .246/.302/.492 scoring 18 home runs and 45 RBIs in 69 games with an OPS+ of 119.

---

Giancarlo Stanton's return could boost floundering Yankees

Giancarlo Stanton is crucial for the New York Yankees despite having Aaron Judge, (Photo Credit: IMAGN)

The New York Yankees were flying high during the opening couple months of the 2024 season. Giancarlo Stanton played a pivotal role in their offensive output, which stretched beyond his numbers. His stint on the IL seemingly coincided with the Yankees' nosediving to a massive slump over the past month.

Batting at the heart of the lineup in the No. 5 spot, Stanton forces opposing teams to pitch at Aaron Judge, who batted just ahead of him in the clean-up role. Without Stanton in the lineup, opponents have been able to easily maneuver around Judge, as the bottom half of the Yankees batting order hasn't had any serious impact this season.

Aaron Judge struggled at the start of the 2024 season in April before going on an absolute tear in the next two months. In 46 games from the start of May until the injury to Stanton, he batted .369/.485/.894 with an extraordinary 1.379 OPS, which contained 39 extra-base hits, 22 home runs, and 52 RBIs. Meanwhile, Judge has managed only 12 extra-base hits in 27 games since then.