The New York Yankees are hopeful to get Giancarlo Stanton back sometime during the summer as heâs dealing with elbow issues. Stanton, who has swung the bat at a high level for the Yankees during the postseason in previous years, would be welcomed back.
The issue, however, is that he’s often injured, and it’s tough to say that the Yankees can count on him. Not because of what he does on the field, but because Stanton simply can’t stay healthy.Â
According to a recent report from Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, it doesn’t sound like Stanton will be returning sometime in the near future. He reported that skipper Aaron Boone said there’s no return date for Stanton, and he isn’t ready to begin a rehab assignment yet.Â
âThere is no set date for Giancarlo Stanton to begin a rehab assignment, Aaron Boone said,â he wrote.
What Will the Yankees Do?
When Stanton returns to the New York Yankees, there might be some uncomfortable conversations. With the way Ben Rice has swung the bat to start the season, it’s impossible to suggest taking him out of the lineup.Â
During the 2025 campaign, Rice has been better than anybody expected, hitting nine home runs with a .252 batting average.Â
For a young player who has proven that he can play multiple positions and help the Yankees out when he’s in the lineup, not having him get daily at-bats would be a disservice to the rest of the roster.Â
Ben Rice, Jasson Dominguez, and Stanton
The question for the New York Yankees is what they want to do with Stanton when he returns. Do they want to take Rice out of the lineup? Do they want to mess around with Jasson Dominguezâs development?Â
Those are all tough questions that the Yankees will have to answer. However, some believe they don’t have room for the big power hitter when he returns.Â
âEven without Stanton, the Yankees have more bats than spots right now. They expected Judge, Jasson Dominguez, and Cody Bellinger to be their three outfielders on most nights this season, but Trent Grisham’s emergence seemingly out of nowhere has forced them into starting him most nights. Sure, there’s a DH spot, but they’ve been using one of Paul Goldschmidt or Ben Rice in those spots on most occasions, with the other one starting at first base…
âThe Yankees would love to add Stanton’s bat to their lineup, but how would that work? At this stage of his career, he’s really only a DH. In order to fit him in, the Yankees would have to either bench one of Goldschmidt or Rice nightly, which wouldn’t be great, or teach Rice a new position, which also wouldn’t be great,â Zachary Rotman wrote. âStanton probably could play in the outfield once in a while, but who is he going to replace there of their four outfielders?â
There’s no debating that Stanton has been a better player than the others who could take over for him. However, the 35-year-old has yet to play in more than 115 games in the past three seasons, something that has to be factored in.Â
When he played for the Yankees last year, he hit 27 home runs in 114 games, posting a 116 OPS+ along the way.Â
That type of production isn’t easy to replicate, but Rice has done it.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Yankees Get Bad Giancarlo Stanton News as Calls Mount for Ben Rice appeared first on Heavy Sports.