Giancarlo Stanton was feeling fine after appearing in his first rehab game with Double-A Somerset on Saturday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said ahead of Sunday’s series finale with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Stanton went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his first rehab assignment game. The Yankees slugger started the game as a designated hitter and was expected to play again on Sunday in the Patriots’ game against Bowie.
“He came through fine, feels good today,” said Boone, who had just been texting with Stanton prior to walking into the press conference room. “More at-bats today. … Everything went according to plan.”
Boone said that Stanton will determine the number of at-bats he’ll need to figure out if he’s ready to return to the Yankees lineup. The plan for him was another three to five at-bats on Sunday and if things go well he would work out with the MLB club on Monday.
The Yankees are hoping to have Stanton face Luis Severino on Tuesday in order for him to face Major League talent. Severino is working his way back from his own injury as well.
“Hopefully we’ll be in a good spot there, but we’ll kind of determine that as the days unfold. If we feel that’s enough and he feels that’s enough then we’ll go from there,” Boone said.
It isn’t likely that Stanton will be available for the Yanks two meetings with the Mets this week, but Boone was hopeful he’d be back for the upcoming road trip.
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Stanton was placed on the injured list on July 24 with Achilles tendinitis and the Yankees have struggled to score runs while he has been on the mend. New York has gone 9-20 since the All-Star break and seen their once 15-game lead in the division dwindle to seven.
Luke Bard called up while Albert Abreu goes on IL
The Yankees just can’t catch a break these days with the number of injuries they’ve been dealing with. Albert Abreu was placed on the 15-day IL ahead of Sunday’s game and they called up righty Luke Bard from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Abreu is dealing with right elbow inflammation. Boone said that Bard joined the 40-man roster because he had been pitching better than his numbers have indicated.
“A guy that (is) a strike thrower,” Boone said. “He has been getting swing and misses down there as well. A guy that throws the ball well and obviously we needed to fill a spot here with Albert going down yesterday.”
Josh Donaldson feeling better
The Yankees infielder was dealing with a stomach bug that kept him out of the lineup on Saturday, but he was feeling better on Sunday and had been an option for the Yankees. Josh Donaldson was feeling a little bit better when left the stadium on Saturday night and Boone told reporters that he was bouncing around the clubhouse on Sunday prior to their game with the Blue Jays.
