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Yankees Share Massive Giancarlo Stanton Injury Update Amid Trade Speculation

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated May 21, 2025 1:15 PM ET

If former NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton begins a rehab assignment soon, it’ll be while he’s still playing in the New York Yankees’ organization.

Typically, no one would need to clarify the Yankees have no intentions of parting ways—either via trade or a buyout—with the All-Star slugger. However, unverified internet rumors have recently suggested the Yankees will deal Stanton ahead of the July 31 deadline.

Financial commitments, coupled with Stanton’s age and durability, make a trade almost impossible. What is possible, though, is seeing Stanton suit up in pinstripes within the coming weeks.

Manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Tuesday that Stanton is approaching the “end game” of his running program. Stanton hasn’t played all season while battling tennis elbow in both arms.

“Stanton has continued to run on the field and has hit ’a lot of volume’ off a high-velocity machine,” Yankees reporter Bryan Hoch wrote on X/Twitter.

Giancarlo Stanton does some running pregame pic.twitter.com/JpEIHnozfS
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 16, 2025

The Yankees have primarily started Ben Rice at DH in Stanton’s absence, and he’s rewarded the Bombers with 10 homers, 10 doubles, and an impressive .904 OPS through 165 plate appearances.

It is unclear if Stanton will become the full-time DH when he returns. Rice, a first baseman and catcher by trade, recently took reps at third base; the Yankees lost third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera to a severe ankle injury last week.

Neither Boone nor general manager Brian Cashman have publicly addressed platooning Rice and Stanton at DH. It’s worth noting that Rice owns only a .167 average in 72 career at-bats against lefties.

Regardless of the Yankees’ plans for Stanton, you can forget about the trade talk. Counting this season, Stanton has three years and $86 million remaining on his deal.

The Yankees (or any other team employing Stanton) also have an $18 million club option for 2028, though he’d still reap the benefits of a $10 million buyout.

In other words, the Yankees almost definitely aren’t trading or cutting Stanton this year, no matter what social media users suggest. They can turn on their Xbox if they want to see Stanton playing for the Seattle Mariners or Colorado Rockies.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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