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Aaron Boone’s latest comments on Giancarlo Stanton could give Yankees flexibility

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 14: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees throws in the in outfield during summer workouts at Yankee Stadium on July 14, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 14: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees throws in the in outfield during summer workouts at Yankee Stadium on July 14, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke about Giancarlo Stanton on Tuesday.

It’s safe to say New York Yankees fans have chalked Giancarlo Stanton into the DH spot for the next seven years. Injuries have defined his tenure with the team — though he did have a tremendous 2018 season and 2020 postseason — so everyone is simply focused on having him in the lineup and healthy. Throwing him in the outfield presents another risky variable to derail that plan.

But it appears the Yankees themselves haven’t viewed Stanton’s situation as exclusive to the DH role. Manager Aaron Boone appeared on MLB Network on Tuesday to talk about a number of topics, which included Stanton’s contributions moving forward.

When he was asked about the slugger playing the outfield, Boone didn’t rule it out. In fact, he said the big man was ready to do so towards the end of the year, but the team didn’t want to take any risks. Can’t blame ’em.

Well, that changes a lot. If Stanton can play even a third of his games in the outfield as long as the Yankees feel comfortable with it, that would give Boone so much more flexibility. It could even help them bring in another bat! Kyle Schwarber could potentially be a fit as a part-time DH and fourth outfielder if Stanton get log some reps out there.

And maybe if this can become a reality, we won’t have people crying about how his seven-year, $218 million contract, which will pay him an average of $26.8 million per year (when you factor in the Marlins’ $30 million subsidy), is a rip off because he’s only playing offense.

Then again, this will be a very strict wait-and-see approach. Boone was far from definitive in any of his statements and there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the slugger after the last two campaigns, which were significantly shortened due to soft tissue injuries.

The fact that the door is open, though, at least provides some optimism for providing the lineup with a bit more flexibility because that can open up some more opportunities to make additions this offseason or before the trade deadline.

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