Yankees News: Giancarlo Stanton timetable, DJ LeMahieu benched, Omar Minaya

Another underwhelming series will conclude Monday for the New York Yankees. Just when you thought they were breaking out of their cold streak, they pulled you right back into the endless ineptitude. Make that 9-20 over their last 29 games, but who's counting?

Anyway, let's start with the good news. Giancarlo Stanton spoke to reporters on Sunday and provided an update on his status. He's been out for a month with a hamstring injury and the team hasn't been clear about his return timetable.

Coming from Stanton himself, however, we could see the slugger in games as early as next week, depending upon if he goes on a rehab assignment or not. He said that if he can "stack a few more good days together" that'll help expedite the decision.

The Yankees badly need Stanton's bat back in the lineup. Though fans have complained about his ineffectiveness over the last few years, his presence really makes a difference, as evidenced by how the team has performed over the last month.

Right now, the Yankees have no solution for the cleanup spot. Once Stanton returns, he'll be back to batting fourth and the offense will hopefully find a semblance of consistency.

Yankees News: Giancarlo Stanton timetable, DJ LeMahieu benched, Omar Minaya

Speaking of consistency, just about everybody outside of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto hasn't possessed a shred of it. The biggest culprit has arguably been DJ LeMahieu, who has been unable to do much of anything since coming off the IL.

But just a day after manager Aaron Boone said LeMahieu has "earned" the right to play through his horrid slump (.177 AVG, .471 OPS in 39 games), the veteran was benched on Sunday and could see less playing time this week.

The classic Boone! Lying straight to the fans' faces, then turning around and making the decision everybody's been asking for. LeMahieu is still a well-liked Yankee for his contributions in 2019-2020, but his time has clearly run its course. He hasn't been healthy in four years and he's been average (at best) ever since the start of 2021. He needs to be relegated to part-time duty.

Yankees exec Omar Minaya's wife found dead in New Jersey home

Let's pause and keep the baseball talk curbed for the moment, though, because the front office is dealing with a tragedy. Senior adviser Omar Minaya's wife, Rachel, was found dead in their New Jersey home Saturday.

Right now, the details are scarce. All we know is that suicide was ruled out and Minaya was not home at the time of Rachel's passing. The Yankees family is mourning after this horrific news and our thoughts are with Minaya's family. We can expect him to be away from the team for quite some time, but we'll provide more updates as they become available.