Giancarlo Stanton took live batting practice in front of reporters for the first time on Tuesday, but Aaron Boone stopped short of characterizing the session as a significant step toward the designated hitter starting a rehab assignment.
Stanton, slowly working his way back from double tennis elbow, faced Jake Cousins at Yankee Stadium. Cousins, recovering from a right flexor strain, totaled 15 pitches against Stanton and J.C. Escarra.
Stanton grounded out in his first at-bat and drew a walk in his second.
“I thought his at-bats were really good,” Boone said. “Cousins is not an easy at-bat, for a righty especially. And I thought Cousins looked good. I thought G looked like he was controlling the at-bats pretty well.”
Giancarlo Stanton vs. Jake Cousins #Yankees pic.twitter.com/ovRjyxrUnd
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) May 6, 2025
With the Yankees heading west later this week, Boone said that Stanton will stay in New York so that he can keep hitting off the team’s Trajekt machine. He’ll also do some on-field hitting off a high-velocity machine and continue his running progression.
Boone did not offer much insight into when Stanton, who missed all of spring training, could begin a rehab assignment or how long such an assignment might take.
“I don’t know what exactly his rehab assignment will look like. Might be a little different than everyone else’s because we don’t need the fielding component,” Boone said, as Stanton hasn’t played the outfield in some time.
Boone previously mentioned the end of May, which is when Stanton’s 60-day injured list designation expires, when discussing the slugger’s timeline. However, it wasn’t clear if the manager meant that’s when Stanton could join the Yanks or when he could start a rehab assignment.
Boone didn’t clarify that when asked about it on Tuesday.
“I think it’s all in play,” he said.