In their 71st game, the Yankees got back one of the linchpins to their lineup.

Giancarlo Stanton, sidelined up until this point with tennis elbow in each arm, made his 2025 debut Monday night in The Bronx, potentially giving a slumbering Yankees lineup a jolt.

Stanton batted fifth to open a series against the Angels.

“He had a really good work day yesterday here where he did a lot of hitting and getting ready,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He feels good to go, so excited to get the big boy back.”

The 35-year-old slugger had been hitting for a while prior to a minor league rehab assignment last week with Double-A Somerset.

Giancarlo Stanton will return to Yankees lineup on Monday night. Robert Sabo for NY Post

In three games, he went 3-for-11 with a double, four RBIs, a walk and three strikeouts.

Even without Stanton, the Yankees have maintained first place in the AL East, holding a 3 ¹/₂-game lead over the second-place Rays.

They lead the American League in runs scored (370) and are second in the league in OPS (.794).

Stanton’s return should only enhance those numbers.

He’s a formidable power bat and five-time All-Star who homered seven times in the postseason a year ago.

Most importantly, Stanton feels healthy after missing so much time.

“He’s built some good momentum here over the last couple of months with it. The strength in his hands and things like that have returned in a good way,” Boone said. “Certainly something we’ll pay attention to, but feel like we’re in a pretty good spot. He just got through playing three in a row down there, and that third day was up in the air. But because he continued to bounce back [he played]. Hopefully that’s a good sign moving forward.”

Giancarlo Stanton homers during the Yankees’ October 2024 game against the Dodgers in the World Series. Charles Wenzelberg

Giancarlo Stanton is pictured Feb. 19. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

It will be interesting to see how Boone balances out the playing time.

There is now a logjam at multiple positions, as Stanton will not be available to play the field for the time being.

In Stanton’s absence, Aaron Judge, Ben Rice and Jasson Domínguez all saw action at designated hitter.

It now leaves three players — Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Domínguez — for two spots in the outfield.

Although he was out of the lineup on Monday, Paul Goldschmidt is expected to get the majority of starts at first base.

The Yankees could use Rice at catcher on occasion — it was his position through most of his minor league career — although he hasn’t started a game behind the plate since breaking into the big leagues last year.

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“I see him playing quite a bit. As far as the catching component, I do plan on getting him back there at some point,” Boone said. “I don’t know how frequently it will be, because I really value what J.C. [Escarra] has done back there. As you see, I do value getting Austin [Wells] his days. There will be a day that I get him back there, and that can factor into things a little bit.”

On Monday, Goldschmidt and Domínguez were the odd men out.

On Tuesday, it could be two other players.

It will be a juggling act.

“You guys all see our roster right now and know we have, frankly, guys that should be in there probably pretty much every single day,” Boone said. “We’ll have to work a little bit of a rotation there. ‘G’ will be part of that. I expect him to play regularly, but he’ll have his days, too. We’ll let this thing shake out. I’ve talked to the guys about it, we’re going to have a couple of good players sitting out there every single day that you can make a case should be in the lineup.”