Giancarlo Stanton is set to take another step in his recovery on Monday afternoon, when he is scheduled for live batting practice against Carlos Rodón. He will do it again on Tuesday against Clarke Schmidt, but Aaron Boone still would not say whether Stanton will actually swing the bat or only stand in the box.
That uncertainty matters because Stanton is finally close enough to face live pitching after a long stretch of rehab work, and the Yankees are trying to make decisions with the trade deadline in view. Boone said Stanton is "in position to probably do that now for a little bit," a sign that the club believes he has reached a meaningful point even if the workload remains limited.
Stanton's path back has been stop-start since April, when he strained his calf while jogging between second and third base. After building himself up close to a return, he suffered a second strain, which pushed the timeline back again and left the Yankees waiting for a healthier version of one of their most powerful hitters. The live batting practice sessions are the clearest sign yet that he is again moving forward.
There is still a catch. Being scheduled for live batting practice is not the same as taking full swings in game-speed work, and Boone did not bridge that gap on Monday. If Stanton only stands in the box, it would still mark progress, but it would also show how carefully the Yankees are handling a player who has already been slowed twice.
That caution extends to Aaron Judge, who still has no reimaging date and no strength training, upper body work or baseball activities yet. The Yankees were once dealing with a rumored thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis that never came to pass, but the broader problem remains that neither Stanton nor Judge can be treated as a sure thing while the roster and the deadline picture are being sorted out. Stanton may be closer to action than Judge, but that is not the same as being ready for the lineup. For now, the next useful answer is not whether Stanton is progressing. It is whether the swings finally start on Monday afternoon.
