The New York Yankees are in desperate need of offensive help.
But don't expect Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton to walk through those clubhouse doors anytime soon as an active player.
While Judge will finally have his right rib stress fracture re-imaged during the All-Star break, he is not close to a return. And the same goes for Stanton, who had a setback in his rehab from a right calf strain.
As it turns out, GM Brian Cashman told reporters on Thursday that Stanton “had a whole new injury … not a setback from the prior injury."
The new injury was brought on by running the bases in mid-June. It's still a right calf strain, but in a different area, per Cashman.
“It kind of resets the whole thing,” Cashman told reporters at Tropicana Field, via The New York Post. “So he’s finally been cleared to start some running. He’s gotten PRP injections along the way, but ultimately, it was an unfortunate circumstance. Certainly we’d love to have him in that lineup and being the weapon that he is. But we have to let it heal. We have to give it the time it takes, and unfortunately it takes time.”
So, the Yankees have not put a timetable on the return of Stanton. The 36-year-old has been on the injured list since April 25. He has been limited to just 24 games this season, slashing .256/.302/.422 with a .724 OPS, three home runs and 14 RBI.
Last season, Stanton did not debut until June 16 as a result of double elbow injuries. He still went on to have a monster offensive campaign, though, hitting 24 homers, driving in 66 RBI and posting a .944 OPS in 77 contests.
The Yankees' lineup has been in a collective slump since last month. They could really use both Stanton and Judge back in the near future. However, it doesn't appear that either slugger is close to returning. With Stanton, now we know why.
