Giancarlo Stanton is back on the roster, but still not all the way back from the strained quad that landed him on the injured list last month.
He wasn’t in the lineup Sunday with the Yankees looking to avoid a sweep to the Red Sox and was limited to a pinch-hit opportunity in the bottom of the eighth of the 6-5, 10-inning loss.
Stanton struck out — his 12th whiff in 24 at-bats since his return.
Aaron Boone made it clear that Stanton continues to deal with lingering issues.
“I think there’s some residual stuff,” Boone said before the game. “And I think there’s more of building strength and building that endurance up to play at a level he obviously needs to play at.”
But he didn’t hesitate to use him in the eighth, and Stanton was booed after ending the inning.
Boone originally expressed hope that Stanton, after resting for Thursday’s series finale against the Rays, could play in all three games against the Red Sox.
On Sunday, the manager said, “We feel like he’s making steady progress to getting there, but don’t want to go the other way, too. With the off day tomorrow, [we’re] trying to get him there. We know how important he is to what we do and our offense.”
Asked whether the “get[ting] him there” referred to Stanton’s performance or his fitness, Boone replied, “I think they go hand in hand. I think getting to that place where he feels really good and strong and at his best physically translates probably into really good results as well.”
In Stanton’s absence, Aaron Judge served as the DH.