ARLINGTON, Texas — The New York Yankees got a win Monday night and an injury update that stung almost as much as Sunday’s loss.
Giancarlo Stanton is headed to the 10-day injured list with a low-grade right calf strain. The MRI he had Monday confirmed what the Yankees had feared since he left Friday’s game in Houston. There was no way to keep playing through it.
And the three players the Yankees have been waiting on all season — Anthony Volpe, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon — are all still weeks away. All three are scheduled to continue their rehab assignments at Double-A Somerset this week.
The wait goes on.
Stanton’s calf gives out after 72-hour wait
The Yankees gave Stanton the weekend to see if the calf would improve enough to avoid the injured list. It did not. Boone confirmed after the 4-2 win over the Rangers that an MRI taken Monday showed a low-grade strain in the right calf.
Stanton originally suffered the injury on Friday night in Houston while jogging from first to second base against the Astros. He eventually exited the game after reaching third base. The Yankees were cautious immediately, kept him out Saturday and Sunday and hoped for the best.
Boone delivered the verdict after the game. His message was measured but clear.
“Doesn’t look too serious, but enough to not want to wait a couple more days,” the Yankees skipper said. “So we’ll see what we have as the week unfolds.”
Boone added that it “could be” a minimum 10-day stint, but he declined to put a firm timetable on the return. Stanton would be eligible to come off the IL as early as next Tuesday.
The 36-year-old had been hitting .256 with a .724 OPS, three home runs and 14 RBI in 24 games before the injury. He has a well-documented history of soft-tissue leg injuries that have robbed the Yankees of his production in multiple seasons. He played just 77 games in 2025 and has not reached 120 games in any season since 2021. The Yankees caught the strain early and believe they prevented it from becoming something significantly longer.
Aaron Judge was asked about the loss of his lineup partner. He did not sugarcoat how significant the absence will be.
“It’s huge,” the Yankees captain said. “He’s a big force in the middle of our lineup. Big RBI production. But I’m hoping it’s a small stint. He was able to catch it early hopefully and he’ll be back out there.”
Stanton IL, Dominguez fills in at DH
The Yankees recalled Jasson Dominguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier Monday to fill the roster spot created by Luis Gil’s demotion Sunday. With Stanton now officially heading to the IL, Dominguez becomes the primary option at designated hitter against right-handed starters for the near term.
Dominguez started Monday night against Jack Leiter and struck out and grounded out in his first two at-bats before lining a single the other way in the sixth inning. The 23-year-old is expected to start all three Yankees games of the Rangers series with righties scheduled to pitch.
Whether Dominguez gets an extended run at DH depends on two things: how long Stanton is out, and when Volpe returns.
Volpe, Cole and Rodon all on hold at Somerset
Per SNY’s report published April 28, all three of the Yankees’ key injury returners are expected to make their next appearances at Double-A Somerset this week. That single line tells the story of where all three stand.
Volpe, who turns 25 on Tuesday, has now been on a rehab assignment for two weeks. He played four games at Double-A Somerset and then four at Triple-A Scranton. A rainout Saturday wiped out a scheduled doubleheader and pushed his workload timeline back. He is now returning to Double-A for more work rather than coming back to the Yankees as expected. A Friday return is no longer likely.
Cole has been the steadiest of the three in terms of progress. He made a rehab start with Double-A Somerset on April 18, tossing 4.1 innings. He then pitched at High-A Hudson Valley on April 23. The next stop is Double-A Somerset again for more work. Cole missed all of 2025 following Tommy John surgery in March of that year and has not pitched in a big-league game since starting Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. He was the Yankees’ ace and the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner. The club is taking no shortcuts with his return. The targeted timetable is May or June.
Rodon made his High-A Hudson Valley rehab start on April 24 after recovering from an offseason elbow procedure. The Yankees ace faced a brief scare in early April when hamstring tightness interrupted a bullpen session, but he bounced back without losing meaningful time. Boone said on April 22 that Rodon is slightly ahead of Cole in his rehab progression, estimating a return of “probably a couple of weeks” at that point. That now looks closer to mid-May. The Yankees pitcher will also pitch at Double-A Somerset this week.
The Yankees went 19-10 through their first 29 games without any of the three players. The current rotation has held up remarkably well all month. But the combined depth that Cole, Rodon and a healthy Stanton will bring will eventually reshape what this roster looks like in May and beyond.
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