ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Giancarlo Stanton pushes for a role as Yankees weigh Rays roster.
The Yankees have until 10 a.m. EDT Saturday to hand Major League Baseball the 26 names they trust most against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Most of the Yankees list writes itself. One spot has hovered over the clubhouse all week.
The Yankees swept the Boston Red Sox in the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium, winning 9-0 on Tuesday and 9-2 on Wednesday. They outscored Boston 18-2.
The Yankees’ starters did most of the work. Cam Schlittler and Max Fried held Boston to one run over 12 1/3 innings, and the Yankees lineup piled on late in both games.
They also barely touched their bench. New York carried 16 position players and only 10 pitchers for the best-of-three round, a roster built for late-inning matchups.
A best-of-five Division Series changes the Yankees’ math. Manager Aaron Boone needs more arms for the pitching staff. Gerrit Cole starts Game 1 at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Tropicana Field against Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen.
Aaron Judge adds another variable. The captain has not played since straining his calf Sept. 16. He has been hitting against live pitching and running, and Boone said the question is whether Judge can help at some point in the series.
Every pitcher added and every star who returns squeezes the same short list of bench bats. The most famous name on that list sat through both playoff wins without a plate appearance.
His October resume with the Yankees runs 48 games deep.
Stanton: ‘Ready to go’
Giancarlo Stanton, 36, last played April 24 in Houston, when he strained his right calf running the bases. He reaggravated it in June and strained his left calf in August. The Yankees activated him Sept. 29 strictly as a pinch hitter.
He spoke at length Friday for the first time in months and said he would fill any role.
“I’m ready to go, however they need me,” Stanton said to NJ.com.
Asked about missing out on at-bats against Boston, he put the sweep first.
“I prefer to get two wins and be here now,” he said. “Is it always good to get ABs for anybody for their timing? Yes.”
Stanton then framed October as a reset for a lost season.
“It’s the most important time of the year,” he said. “If there’s any time to erase a bad year, it’s in October.”
Boone has praised Stanton’s persistence, if not yet the fit.
“I think a lot of people probably felt like that was the end of the road for him getting back,” Boone said. “But credit to him that he never stopped.”
Two openings, two passes
The first opening came with a 2-0 lead in the seventh inning of Game 1. Boston brought in left-hander Alec Gambia. Boone nearly sent his most decorated October hitter up to lead off in place of rookie Spencer Jones.
He stopped himself. Boone later admitted how close it was.
“I almost hit Big G and then changed my mind,” Boone said.
Jones had hit nearly .400 against lefties as a rookie. Boone also did not want to finish the game with Trent Grisham, activated that day, playing center field.
“With the lead there, obviously I’ve liked what Spencer’s done against lefties,” Boone said.
Jones singled to spark a rally.
The second opening came late in Game 2, when Boston turned to ace Garrett Crochet. The lefty had not pitched since April. Giancarlo Stanton, who last played that same month, stayed on the bench again as Cody Bellinger’s three-run homer broke the game open.
Before Game 1, Boone had framed Stanton’s value as much about presence as production.
“Hopefully the threat that he is can play a factor for us in this series,” Boone said.
Lefty math or trust issue? What’s behind Boone’s hesitation
The Yankees carried Stanton to punish Boston’s left-handers. His 2026 numbers explain why Boone kept waiting.
In 30 plate appearances against lefties this season, Stanton hit .154. He hit .297 in 66 plate appearances against right-handers. Overall, he batted .256 with three homers, 14 RBIs and a .724 OPS in 24 games.
His layoff stretched 158 days between his last regular-season game and his activation. By Saturday’s first pitch, it will reach 162 days, the length of a full schedule in games.
October is the counterweight. Stanton has 18 homers, 44 RBIs and a .926 OPS in 48 postseason games, all with the Yankees. That works out to a homer every 11.2 playoff plate appearances. He was MVP of the 2024 ALCS after hitting seven postseason homers that fall.
Stanton is signed through 2027 on his 13-year, $325 million deal and sits 44 homers shy of 500.
SNY’s Chelsea Jones raised the possibility of an end point while stressing nothing has been signaled.
“I would not be surprised if he decides to call it after this season, though to be very, very clear, I have not heard anyone who would know suggest that is imminent,” Jones wrote in a September mailbag.
Roster call comes Saturday morning
Ben Rice is the everyday designated hitter, and Stanton is not ready to play the outfield.
A larger pitching staff for the ALDS and a possible Judge return could leave no room in the Yankees dugout for a pinch hitter who never batted in the first round.
Both Paul Goldschmidt and Luis Garcia Jr. have prove their mettle and are strong roster role claimants.
Boone has not tipped his hand. The Yankees roster is due to MLB at 10 a.m. EDT, more than eight hours before Cole throws the first pitch.
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