The New York Yankees lead the Major Leagues in home runs with 57 as well as OPS at .817. The Bronx Bombers are second only to the Chicago Cubs in runs scored per game at 5.5. All of that has added up to a 19-15 record, enough for first place in the American League East by two games over their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox.
But how much better would they be with the career home runs leader among all active players in their lineup?
That may happen sooner than expected, according to the home run king himself.
Giancarlo Stanton, whose 429 career round-trippers remains 42 ahead of second-place Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, has yet to play a game for the Yankees in 2025. Last year he belted 27 home runs in 114 games â plus seven in the postseason to raise his playoff total to 18 home runs 41 games.
This season, the 35-year-old in the 11th season of a 13-year, $325 million contract showed up to spring training complaining of pain in both elbows. He described the injuries to his elbows as “severe” and even raised the possibility that he would require season-ending surgery.
Stanton’s Outlook Improved in Last 2 Months
That was in early March. Now, two months and three platelet-rich plasma (PRP) shots later, Stanton is singing a different, much brighter tune.
In an interview with the Yankees cable TV network YES on Sunday, Stanton said that he was “hopefully not out too much longer.”
The injured five-time All-Star took on-field batting practice for the first time all season on April 22.
He told YES Network reporter Meredith Marakovits that he does not expect the pain in his elbow to go away completely, but hopes to “get it to a point where it’s manageable, and go from there. There’ll be good days and bay days. And you gotta understand that, and keep a good mentality and keep it rolling.”
On Tuesday, Stanton told Marakovits, he is scheduled to take another live batting practice session when he will hit off another injured Yankee, pitcher Jake Cousins, who is working his way back from a right flexor strain that has kept him out of action so far in 2025 as well.
No Date Yet For Stanton Rehab Stint
But the prolific slugger, who won the 2017 National League MVP Award with the Miami Marlins, said that no date for him to start a rehab assignment â the final step before joining the Major League team â has been set yet. That date will be “based on how live ABs are, and rehab will go from there,” Stanton said.
Just three days ago, the Yankees moved Stanton to the 60-day injured list. According to a report by The Athletic, the switch means that the earliest Stanton could return would be May 24.
The Yankees took Atlanta Braves outfielder Bryan de la Cruz off the waiver wire on Thursday, and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes/Barre. But de la Cruz would bring a degree of added power to the Yankees lineup in Stanton’s absence, with 19 homers in 2023 when he was playing for the Miami Marlins, and 21 last year when he divided his season between Miami and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Stanton told YES that the prolonged injury “has been awful for me. But anything I can do to help the guys out, any knowledge I can bring, that’s my job now.”
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