Yankees Injury Update: Giancarlo Stanton frustration, Jasson Dominguez progress, more

The New York Yankees have yet to truly be at full strength this season. The club carried into 2026 a trio of IL denizens in Gerrit Cole, Anthony Volpe, and Carlos Rodón, and now, with Cole getting the start on May 22 against the Tampa Bay Rays, that original trio is back in action. However, they've been replaced by a new triumvirate of Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Caballero, and Jasson Dominguez.

New York could desperately use some good news on the latest wave of the walking wounded, and while we have updates to share, they are sort of a mixed bag.

Giancarlo Stanton's low-grade calf strain continues to look more serious than the Yankees let on

The Yankees, after some apparent hemming and hawing, put Stanton on the IL on April 28 for what was supposedly a short stint. However, two weeks in, and things started looking bleaker. The 36-year-old slugger had been sent for more imaging and held back from running at that point.

Now, as we approach Memorial Day, not much has changed. Stanton has continued hitting and is performing plyometric exercises (sometimes called "jump training" that work the muscles' ability to rapidly expand and contract on explosive movements), but still isn't cleared to run.

The Yankees tend to be vague with injury updates, and with Stanton's history of lower-body injuries, patience might be key, and frustration is likely in our future.

Jasson Dominguez is making progress towards a Yankees return

The moment Jasson Dominguez's head, neck, and shoulder smashed into the outfield wall, it looked like the Yankees would be without the Martian for a good long while. Forget baseball; for a moment, we were just worried about the 23-year-old's well-being.

The good news is that things were less severe than they appeared. Dominguez suffered a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder, which while serious, was one of the better possible outcomes.,

The young outfielder is already on the comeback trail. He's begun hitting off a tee, which is his real first test. It will still be a while going from here to activation off of the IL, but progress is progress.

Jose Caballero is ready to reignite a debate that Yankees fans dread

Caballero promised us he'd spend the minimum required on the IL, and after some successful rounds of hitting and throwing, he's ready to be activated on May 22 to kick off the series against his former club, the Rays.

Of course, it was Caballero's injury that opened the door for Volpe's return to the major leagues. Volpe has performed pretty well in his absence, with a .250/.444/.350 line over seven games. The question now will be, once again, how does the pair co-exist, or do the Yankees have another bold move in them?

We'll have to see if Caballero's activation results in a Volpe demotion, a scenario that seems less likely now than it did just a few days ago. If both remain on the big league roster, who starts and who goes to the bench? It will be an exhausting few weeks as this dynamic is sure to be discussed ad nauseam. The silver lining is that the Yankees are getting a good player back from injury, and you should never turn your nose up at that.

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