Giancarlo Stanton’s Absence Highlights Yankees’ Roster Construction Problems

Giancarlo Stanton missed his third straight game Saturday, still feeling lower-body soreness after logging three consecutive starts in right field back in New York. Aaron Boone called it a day-to-day situation, the latest reminder of the balancing act the Yankees are stuck with while Aaron Judge remains limited to DH as he works back from an elbow issue.

The sting is that Stanton has been raking. 

Since returning in mid-June, he’s in one of the best grooves he’s had in years: .300/.376/.586, 12 HR, 34 RBI, 164 wRC+ over his last 30 games, a heater that’s carried chunks of the offense. His season line sits at .299/.949 OPS with 12 HR and 34 RBI, per ESPN. When he plays, the quality of contact and run production have looked like peak Stanton. 

But the roster math has been a headache. 

Judge’s throwing limitation pins him at DH, which means any day Stanton can’t take a corner-outfield start, Boone loses flexibility and a thunderbat. That’s exactly what’s happened this weekend.

Team results tell a complicated story. Before Stanton’s mid-June return, the Yankees actually banked wins: they’re 49–31 without him this season, per StatMuse’s game-split roll-up. With Stanton in the lineup since his return, they’re 17–26—a reflection of broader second-half issues more than his bat, but proof that his surge hasn’t single-handedly fixed the slide. 

What’s not complicated is the need. When both Judge and Stanton are active and positioned to hit, the order lengthens and the Yankees can survive the inevitable lulls elsewhere. When Stanton can’t answer the outfield bell, the bench gets exposed and Boone runs out of puzzle pieces. For a club clinging to playoff position, the path forward is annoyingly simple: Judge needs to throw again, and Stanton needs to feel good enough to stand in right—so both bats can live in the lineup at the same time.