BOSTON — The Yankees expect to get a much-needed boost to their lineup when they face the team with the best record in baseball.
The club is hoping to activate Giancarlo Stanton from the injured list Monday when it opens a series against the Phillies in Philadelphia.
The 34-year-old slugger did not join the Yankees on their trip to Fenway Park this weekend, but instead was back in The Bronx continuing to work out and build his stamina ahead of his return from a hamstring strain.
Manager Aaron Boone was still noncommittal on Stanton taking a rehab assignment, though at this point it seems unlikely.
“He’s pretty much done everything he needs to do,” Boone said before Friday’s 9-7 loss to the Red Sox. “Now it’s about building a little bit of volume. The things that you need to see when you’ve been out for a while in a rehab situation — obviously he doesn’t play the field that much, so we’re not trying to [simulate that]. But you want to build up that volume.
“It’s one thing to be able to get to do it, but when you’re training for a race or marathon, you’ve got to build that endurance. Right now it’s about stacking days of volume and seeing how the bounce-back is.”
The Yankees lineup has sorely missed Stanton, getting little production outside of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto since he went down with the soft-tissue injury.
Before the injury, Stanton was batting .246 with 18 home runs and a .795 OPS. The Yankees need that version of Stanton instead of the one that has been a shell of himself when returning from leg injuries in each of the last two seasons.
Boone said the Yankees are not rushing Stanton back because of the lineup’s struggles.
“If that were the case, we’d rush him in there today,” Boone said. “He’s physically probably at that point, but we want to make sure he’s in a really good spot and ready to have the best opportunity to not only be successful but sustain it.”
Jasson Dominguez is officially back to playing in games — at Triple-A, at least for now.
The Yankees’ top outfield prospect was activated off the injured list Friday at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after dealing with a strained oblique since June 15.
Dominguez, who went 1-for-4 with two RBIs and two strikeouts while DHing, is expected to need at least a handful of games before the Yankees would consider calling him up.
“When he came back from Tommy John when he first started playing [earlier this season], he hit the ground running pretty quickly,” Boone said. “So hopefully it’s similar. Obviously he’s a guy we play close attention to.”
While the Yankees remained quiet, the rest of the AL East was in the thick of the trade activity Friday, with the Orioles landing right-hander Zach Eflin from the Rays, the Red Sox acquiring left-hander James Paxton, the Rays trading outfielder Randy Arozarena to the Mariners and the Blue Jays sending reliever Yimi Garcia to the Mariners.
“You pay attention to all of it,” Boone said. “It’s all kind of exciting and ‘wow’ and anxious. At the same time, you want to get through that day — or five days — like, ‘Alright, this is what we’re rolling with, this is what everyone’s got. Let’s go.’ ”
Pitching coach Matt Blake was not with the Yankees on Friday after he and his wife welcomed their first child, a baby girl.
He could return to the team by Sunday or Monday.
“Mom and baby are doing well,” Boone said.