Yankees reinstate Giancarlo Stanton from IL

It's now known why. 

Ahead of Friday's game at the Detroit Tigers, the Bronx Bombers reinstated slugger Giancarlo Stanton from the injured list. As Dawn Klemish of the MLB website noted, Stanton missed 13 consecutive contests because of a left quadriceps strain. The 31-year-old is batting .282 with nine home runs and 24 RBI across 33 games.

According to Randy Miller of NJ.com, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Tuesday that Stanton's return was briefly delayed because he hadn't yet tested the quad on the basepaths. 

"He’s getting ready to do a pretty heavy (pre-game workout on Tuesday)," Boone explained at that time. "He’s running bases, hitting. He had a really good day Sunday but hasn’t run the bases yet. He’s getting close." 

The Yankees head into Friday evening at 29-21 overall and third in the American League East standings, two games back of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.