No one saw this coming from Giancarlo Stanton.
Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton Sends Clear Message About Playing Right Field originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton is finally back in right field, and it’s been so far, so good.
Stanton, a full-time DH for most of the last five seasons, played the outfield last weekend for the first time since September 2023. The position change hasn’t cooled off the five-time All-Star, who homered and doubled as part of a four-hit night in Tuesday’s 9-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Most importantly, Stanton hasn’t hurt himself in the 23 innings he’s manned right field. In fact, Stanton made it clear that he’s enjoying playing the outfield again, partly because he gets to interact with and throw balls to the Yankee Stadium crowd.
“Finding gloves from the fans is one of my favorites,” Stanton told reporters. “So I try to not make them move it. That’s always fun.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone sat Stanton for two games last week following Aaron Judge’s return from an elbow injury. Judge is still limited to DH duties, forcing Boone to use Stanton in the outfield following a rash of lower-body and soft-tissue injuries in recent years.
After missing the season’s first 70 months with tennis elbow in both arms, Stanton has channeled his 2017 NL MVP self in a way that no one saw coming. The 16-year vet is batting .300 with 12 home runs, 34 RBIs, and a .962 OPS in 157 plate appearances.
Stanton’s 1.4 bWAR already marks his highest since 2021, and it’s only the second time since the start of 2019 that he’s cleared 1.0 bWAR.
“It’s refreshing after missing so much time, because I contribute zero when I miss time,” Stanton said. “Anything I can do when I’m back is always nice.”
The 64-56 Yankees own a one-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for the AL’s third and final Wild Card spot.
Related: Aaron Judge’s Latest MVP Award Could Come With a Price
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Baseball
