Giancarlo Stanton may miss the rest of the 2026 season for the New York Yankees, just as he appeared to be on the verge of returning from injury.
Stanton, 36, strained his left calf while running, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, on Saturday. The strain is considered a moderate grade and with 34 games remaining on the regular-season schedule, that could mean Stanton won’t return this year.
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The Yankees slugger was already working his way back from a strained right calf that has kept him out of the lineup since April 24. He had progressed to running the bases and hitting at the plate in his recovery, which indicated that he might be nearing a return for the final month of the season.
“Unfortunately, he strained his other calf… he was running a couple of days ago and had fallen,” Boone said. “The other calf is strained. It’s a moderate grade.”
“So what that means moving forward, we’re not ruling anything out,” he added. “He’ll obviously continue to work to try and get it right, and hopefully be available. But obviously, we’re at a point in the calendar where it gets challenging. But you also never know.”
The hope was that the Yankees could get Stanton back soon after Cody Bellinger returns from a strained left hamstring. The outfielder began a minor-league rehab assignment on Thursday and could return in the coming week.
Instead, Stanton’s status for the remainder of the season is uncertain, along with Aaron Judge, who is just beginning to resume baseball activities while recovering from a stress fracture in his ribs.
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If Stanton’s 2026 season is over, he appeared in 24 games and compiled a .256/.302/.422 slash line with 3 home runs, 6 doubles and 14 RBI. Since playing 114 games during the 2024 season, Stanton has appeared in a combined 101 games during the past two years.
Third baseman Ryan McMahon also went on the IL on Friday with a sprained left thumb. He joined pitcher Max Fried, who returned to the IL this week with a bone bruise in his left elbow.
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