THE RETURNING STARS...

How Should the Yankees Handle LeMahieu and Stanton's Return?

by EJ Fagan

May 14, 2025

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NOTE: The following comes from EJ Fagan's substack page and is shared with permission. This was published a few days ago so the stats don't include the last few games.

Please check out EJ's substack page for more great articles.

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DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton are coming back soon. LeMahieu should be ready to be activated when the Yankees return from their West Coast trip, and Stanton is eligible to return at the end of May. But where will they play? And how much?

Let’s start with DJ LeMahieu. Given the injuries to Cabrera and Chisholm, there is clearly room on the roster to give him a shot. Peraza, Vivas and Reyes aren’t exactly looking like all stars out there.

This take might be a little controversial, but I think that LeMahieu could be a useful player in a limited role. He’s hit .444/.500/.593 during his minor league rehab assignment. LeMahieu was a pretty good hitter and defender as recently as the second half of 2023, especially against lefties. He might not have much left, but I think it’s worth a try for a few weeks. If he looks as limp as last year, cut him.

The Yankees really could use some more right-handed hitting. Oswaldo Cabrera has been playable against right-handed pitching, but is now probably out for a long time. Rice and Dominguez could all use a right-handed pinch hitter pretty much every game. There’s room for an old veteran who can still hit lefties off the bench, especially since LeMahieu was still playing good defense at third last year, along with some second and first.

What I worry about is that LeMahieu ends up with too big of a role on this team. Even when Chisholm returns, the Yankees are going to need to replace Cabrera at third. I worry that LeMahieu could end up playing every day over there even if he’s not performing. But, right now he might be the best of a bunch of bad options until either the trade deadline or a minor league callup.

Giancarlo Stanton is a harder one. I think the Yankees just plainly don’t have a spot for him on the 26-man roster. They are already splitting DH and the outfield between five players. Both Ben Rice and Trent Grisham have emerged as better hitters than you could ever hope Stanton to be:

Rice slowed down a little after a hot start, but has rebounded to an .860 OPS over the last two weeks. Grisham has been consistently awesome all season.

One catch: both have huge platoon splits. rice posted a 1.030 OPS against right-handed pitching and just .674 against left-handed pitching. Grisham has been great against both sides, although his .769 OPS against lefties lags behind his Judgian 1.184 OPS against righties.

Stanton could in theory improve the team as a DH against lefties over Rice. Jasson Dominguez and Ben Rice would sit. Grisham and Bellinger would play the outfield.

But does that role make any sense? Stanton has no versatility. He’s also never been a bench player, so might struggle to hit consistently with only occasional starts.

And then there’s off-field stuff. Unlike LeMahieu, Stanton was at the top of his game when we last saw him hit in the playoffs. He’s got veteran street cred. I think the Yankees are going to feel like they have to give him a lot of playing time.

How could this work? I think there are three scenarios. First, the Yankees could bench or DFA Stanton. Let’s take that off the table for now.

Second, they could treat Stanton as the incumbent and put two of Grisham, Bellinger, Dominguez and Rice on the bench in most games. Stanton would be your primary DH, but might end up resting two-ish days per week against right-handed starting pitching. Rice becomes your backup catcher, first baseman and DH.

Scenario #2 sucks. The Yankees would have to sit fun, athletic young players in favor of older guys who are probably a lot worse. It would feel a lot like the old and slow 2022-2024 teams, rather than the new brand of baseball that we’re watching this year. Especially with LeMahieu playing a lot.

I think that there’s a secret third scenario worth considering though. Here, you take advantage of Paul Goldschmidt’s insane splits: .694 OPS against righties, 1.596 (!!) against lefties. He should be a platoon bench bat with those splits.

Against righty starters, you could start Rice at 1st base. Stanton would DH about half of the games while an outfielder DHs the other half. Against lefty starters, Goldschmidt would start at 1st, Stanton would DH, and both Dominguez and Rice would sit on the bench.

The platoon scenario has two advantages. First, it optimizes hitting given the players on the roster. The Yankees right now are giving away a lot of mediocre at bats to hitters who aren’t any good against same-side pitchers.

Second, it creates a deadly bench. The other team brings in a lefty to attack the Dominguez-Volpe-Wells lane? Fine, he gets to see Paul Goldschmidt with leverage. A team brings in a tough righty reliever to go after Goldschmidt-Grisham-Judge? Ben Rice and his 1.000 OPS is coming off the bench.

The downside is that it could really stunt the development of Rice and Dominguez. Both are talented players who might learn to hit lefties better given enough reps.

I’m sympathetic to that argument, but not so much when the Yankees have a narrow lead in the AL East. Every game counts when you’re hoping to win the division with 90 wins or something.

Maybe they’ll just put Stanton in a freezer for a few more months.