Yankees Hold Their Breath As Giancarlo Stanton Returns To Right Field

Giancarlo Stanton didn’t make his 2025 debut until June 16 after rehabbing “tennis elbow” in both arms. Two months later, the 35-year-old slugger is showing exactly why the Yankees can’t afford to lose him again.  

And why it is so concerning that the Bronx Bombers’ October hopes rest, in part, on his health. 

The Yankees’ offense is built to win with power, and Stanton still delivers it in bunches. 

In just 41 games this season, he’s hitting .281 with a .910 OPS, launching 10 home runs in his last 25 games. That production from the middle of the lineup gives New York an edge in tight playoff races and forces opposing pitchers to work through a dangerous three-hitter stretch with Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger.

But the same body that produces tape-measure shots has been notoriously unreliable.

 Since arriving in New York in 2018, Stanton has missed roughly 39% of regular-season games,  about 364 of 940, with injuries ranging from hamstrings to quads to his current elbow issues. Only twice has he topped 115 games in pinstripes.

Postseason numbers show why the Yankees are still trying to nurse him through to October. 

In 41 career playoff games, Stanton has a .975 OPS, hitting .265 with 18 home runs and 40 RBIs. For comparison, Judge,  as dominant as he’s been in the regular season, has a career postseason batting average just over .210. 

Stanton’s October track record is game-changing.

The challenge is keeping him in the lineup and now that is becoming an issue. 

With Judge bound to DH while managing his own elbow injury, Stanton’s time in right field becomes a necessity, but also a risk. His starts in the outfield have been limited for a reason, and the Yankees know one wrong dive or awkward throw could derail him again.

So Tuesday night, he’s back in right field with everyone in the Yankees Universe holding their breath. 

If Stanton stays healthy, his bat can carry the Yankees in October. If not, the lineup loses its punch and the margin for error shrinks fast. The Yankees have to find a way to keep his swing in play, even if it means living with defensive compromises, because letting that kind of power sit is a bet this team can’t win.