New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton said that he is hoping to return to the team’s starting lineup by the end of the month. Stanton has not yet made his 2025 debut due to epicondylitis in both of his elbows.
Stanton took a promising step forward in his recovery when he was seen taking swings during a batting practice session at Yankee Stadium yesterday with pitcher Jake Cousins. This marks the first time Stanton has seen live pitching since he was shut down in Spring Training.
“I’m gonna hit off Cousins, I think [on] Tuesday (May 7th), and then kind of go from there,” Stanton said during a May 4th interview. “It’s gonna be based on how lively these [pitches] are, and then [with] rehab, we’ll go from there.”
Giancarlo Stanton was seen getting some batting practice in at Yankee Stadium via #BallparkCam, while recovering from elbow injuries 🎥 pic.twitter.com/zIHT0IHmOU
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 7, 2025
Though he only faced ten pitches, it was a good showing for Stanton. He hit a ground ball to the shortstop and had a full-count walk in his plate appearances.
“I don’t want to keep talking about this, because I’ve went over and over it,” Stanton said in a separate interview. “If I’m out there, I’m good enough to play. There’s no levels of anything past that.”
“I know when G’s in there, he’s ready to go,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “He’s not going to be in there if he doesn’t feel like he can be really productive, so I know when that time comes, when he’s ready to do that, we should be in a good spot.”
Giancarlo Stanton said that he expects he will need to play in some minor league rehab games before returning to the Yankees’ starting lineup. However, Aaron Boone has expressed that Stanton could be ready to start right away when he comes off the 60-day injured list on May 26th.
“And hopefully we’ve done some things, the latter part of the winter and into the spring, that will set him up to be able to physically do it and withstand it,” Boone added. “But also understanding he’ll probably deal with some things.”
Giancarlo Stanton hits a grounder to short off Jake Cousins in his first live AB this season pic.twitter.com/jcTQsKBsq7
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) May 6, 2025
Despite not having Stanton play at all to open the season, the Yankees are still in first place in the AL East. On top of that, they lead the league in home runs while ranking second in RBIs.
“I feel like we’re gonna be really good,” Boone said following the Yankees’ 4-3 comeback win against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. “We just gotta find a way to win some of these games and secure some series with these kind of games.”
The Yankees are off today as they travel to Sacramento, California to face the Athletics. The opening pitch for that game is scheduled for 10:05 p.m. EDT tomorrow.
