Yankees Injury Update: Giancarlo Stanton, Marcus Stroman, DJ LeMahieu

Though the New York Yankees have dropped three of their last four, with two of those losses representing different versions of "unacceptable," they're still off to a good start in 2025 and are awaiting some reinforcements.

The most notable is Giancarlo Stanton, whose double elbow injuries have not allowed for a definitive return timetable. There was an "optimistic" prediction he could return by Memorial Day and recent reports have suggested "sometime in June", but much of the discourse has focused on "midseason."

Fans have still been deprived of concrete information, but they got to see Stanton taking batting practice with the team before Tuesday night's game against the Cleveland Guardians. He was hardly swinging at 100% effort, but the fact he's out there and doing anything is a great sign.

The Yankees' offense has been among the best in the league without Stanton as he battles elbow tendinitis, so his return will only fortify the impressive group thus far. When he's back, however, they need to figure out a way to get him and Ben Rice in the lineup at the same time.

Yankees Injury Update: Marcus Stroman still down, DJ LeMahieu rehab assignment

It hasn't been all good news this week, though. With Stanton taking the necessary steps forward, the same can't be said for Marcus Stroman. Before the series opener in Cleveland on Monday, manager Aaron Boone told reporters the right-hander is "still feeling some things" in his injured left knee.

Stroman hit the IL on April 12 with knee inflammation and his progress suggests he will not return when he's eligible to be activated. That means the Yankees need to hold their breath with the current group of starters, because if somebody else goes down then they'll be in fairly big trouble, given their thinning depth.

And finally, we have DJ LeMahieu, who is currently on a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset as he works his way back from a calf injury he suffered in his second at-bat of spring training. The veteran belted a home run during Tuesday night's game in what was a 3-for-3 effort with two runs scored and two RBI.

Not bad for his first rehab game since going down! But there's just no possible way the Yankees can expect anything of note from the 36-year-old, who has largely been a non-factor since 2021.

Then again, perhaps the lengthy time off has helped LeMahieu regroup. When he arrived to spring training, he talked about the mental toll the injuries and poor performance took on him. The Yankees had enough infield depth to survive without him this time around, and he was afforded the necessary time to heal and enjoy a gradual rehab process.

He'll still need more at-bats in the minors, though, so don't expect to see him until May. At that point, it could be the end of Oswald Peraza's time in the Bronx.