David Lennon: Yankees' Aaron Boone leaves door open for surprising Giancarlo Stanton playoff return
Yankees injured designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton watches from the dugout against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on Aug 13, 2026. Credit: Brad Penner
The playoffs don’t kick off in the Bronx until Tuesday night, but the Yankees already are putting the “wild” in the upcoming wild-card round. With this week rendered meaningless standings-wise, thanks to the Rays locking up the AL’s best record, Aaron Boone & Co. are weighing a number of wide-ranging possibilities for the postseason, an experimental phase that shows how much this $340 million roster could be in flux over these final days.
Perhaps the most shocking was Wednesday’s revelation that the perpetually injured Giancarlo Stanton, sidelined since April 24 by a multitude of calf strains, is taking swings against live pitching at Double-A Somerset with the idea he could be available for next week’s Wild Card Series.
You read that correctly. The same Stanton whose rehab was derailed for the umpteenth time in August by falling on the basepaths — presumably ending his season — now looms as a potential October threat, one that would be very useful against the lefty-heavy Red Sox, as Boston is the likely first-round foe.
Boone was understandably noncommittal when pushed on Stanton’s condition, given how many false starts we’ve chronicled involving the fragile DH. But the fact that he’s even on the radar is astounding, and Boone tossed in a nugget about Stanton going deep during Wednesday’s session with fellow rehabber Trent Grisham.
“They’re knocking on the door,” Boone said.
But is it realistic for Stanton to be ready for the wild-card round?
“I don’t know,” the manager added. “Anything’s possible. But we’ll see.”
No one thought this would be possible, and Boone mentioned how Stanton’s usage would be in a pinch-hit scenario. He’s been on the shelf for more than five months, and the Yankees have Ben Rice as the full-time DH with Luis Garcia Jr. taking over at first base.
Still, we’ll believe Stanton’s viability when he actually puts on pinstripes again, and he’s done a very effective job dodging the media during what’s amounted to a season-long IL stint. Obviously, the Yankees would benefit from having Stanton’s righty thunder handy again — especially in Aaron Judge’s expected absence — and finding ways to combat Boston’s lefty pitching weapons has become an obsession lately.
That’s why Anthony Volpe, the dethroned three-year shortstop, was doing early work at third base Wednesday before batting practice and is expected to make a few starts there in this final week. Volpe was recalled from Triple-A to fill in at second, but with the return of Jazz Chisholm Jr., the Yankees are hoping to expand their options while minimizing the team’s reliance on the underperforming Ryan McMahon.
“This is the best part of the season,” Volpe said before Wednesday night’s game. “We have everything to play for. Thinking back on it, I haven’t really had time or an opportunity to decompress, but it’s been a wild year.”
Going with Volpe at third has to be limited to an emergency, however, considering he has played only four games at the position at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before his most recent call-up. Chisholm has far more experience there, with 74 games on his resume, but Boone sounded hesitant to move him in order to keep Volpe at second. The Yankees also have put Jose Caballero at third lately, so he remains in the mix to bump McMahon. The interesting part will be whether or not Boone chooses to go with McMahon against a righty starter, as he’s batted .143 (8-for-56) with a .387 OPS over his last 21 games while looking shaky on defense.
“Offensively, it’s been a struggle,” Boone said. “We want to try and get more out of him.”
On the pitching front, the manager has yet to reveal the wild-card rotation, but the current order provides some clues. With Gerrit Cole starting Wednesday night against the Rays, the door remains open for him to take Game 1, followed by Thursday starter Cam Schlittler in Game 2 and Max Fried in Game 3, if necessary.
Anyone other than Schlittler for Game 1, however, would seem to be a bad miscalculation. Why overthink it? Schlittler is going to be the AL’s Cy Young winner, along with getting plenty of down-ballot MVP votes, so who better to get the ball for opening night, especially when you factor in the dominance of his hometown team (if it’s the Red Sox).
The rationale for Cole comes down to his veteran Yankee status and more established resume, including the 2023 Cy Young trophy, but he’s in his first season back from Tommy John surgery and has shown a few cracks lately (8 HRs allowed in his last 17 1⁄3 innings). This Cole, at age 36, is not the sure thing that Schlittler has proved to be the past two seasons.
When Boone was asked Wednesday if he was lining up Schlittler for Game 1, the manager replied, “Not necessarily — we’ll see.”
As for the deciding factors, Boone was vague, but he did point out how his starter for either Game 1 or 2 could still come back to pitch the pivotal Games 2 and 5 of the potential ALDS clash with the Rays.
“We’ll decide what kind of makes the most sense,” Boone said. “Just matching up or how you want to go with it. But Cam would certainly be one of those first two games.”
No shocker there. But Boone did have one other attention-grabber left from Somerset, where hard-throwing prospect Carlos Lagrange is prepping for a possible October call-up as a playoff reliever. Lagrange missed out on a regular-season promotion due to a shoulder injury, but could make his MLB debut on the biggest stage.
“It’s at least putting them on the outskirts of the conversation, if nothing else,” Boone said.
And everything appears to be on the table for the Yankees at this stage.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
