The New York Yankees are heading into Memorial Day weekend winners of seven of their last 10 ball games but confronting a multitude of questions regarding health and offensive performance. They have not been immune from the proliferation of injuries plaguing Major League Baseball this season. As starting pitching has been an area of great strength for the Yankees, there are legitimate concerns regarding the ball club’s offense as they have struggled with situational hitting, consistency, and finding an identity.

Center fielder Aaron Hicks’ season is over after surgery to repair a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. Right-handed pitcher Corey Kluber will likely miss two months due to a subscapular muscle strain in his right shoulder. First baseman Luke Voit returned from the 10-day injured list on May 11^th after surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He only played in 12 ball games before heading back to the 10-day injured list with a Grade 2 right oblique strain.

A healthy Giancarlo Stanton is exactly what the Yankees need as he has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list just in time for a three game series against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The Yankees begin an important stretch of 10 ball games in which they play division rivals the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays seven times. The designated hitter returns to action for the first time since May 13^th after dealing with a left quadriceps strain. As the Yankees continue to unravel the mystery surrounding poor offensive production from its outfield and first base positions, Stanton needs to join Aaron Judge and provide stability to a lineup that goes well beyond tantalizing Statcast metrics.

According to Baseball-Reference’s calculation of Wins Above Replacement (WAR), the Yankees’ outfield has produced a 0.0 WAR, the worst in the American League. Not to be outdone, WAR production at first base has also been horrifying for the Yankees. They currently have a -0.2 WAR which ranks eleventh in the American League.

Stanton has struggled hitting in the cleanup position this season. Over 47 plate appearances, he has produced a .691 On-Base Plus Slugging (OPS) with 19 strikeouts according to Baseball-Reference. Prior to his time on the injured list, Stanton had become comfortable hitting second in the lineup. In 21 ball games hitting behind the leadoff batter, Stanton had amassed a 1.014 OPS over 93 plate appearances. On 17 of these occasions, Judge hit third in the lineup and posted an .810 OPS over 72 plate appearances. The Yankees had achieved an 11-6 record with a +4 run-differential.

It appears as if the Statcast technology was specifically created with Stanton in mind. Under current circumstances, the Yankees are looking for him to combine mind blowing exit velocities with timely hitting. According to Baseball Savant, Stanton has hit 20 pitches this season at an exit velocity of at least 115 miles per hour. However, a run scoring single with an exit velocity of 88.7 miles per hour will always be far more effective than a double play with an exit velocity of 119.4 miles per hour.     

Judge has been performing at an all-star level amid the Yankees’ offensive malaise. During Stanton’s absence, Judge has posted a 1.262 OPS while hitting five home runs over 13 ball games according to Baseball-Reference. Except for Judge, the Yankees’ offense has provided opposing pitchers with several soft-landing spots throughout the course of a ball game. Even though batting average is an archaic statistic, it is still shocking to see a Yankees’ lineup filled with multiple hitters below .200 at the end of May. It is even worse to see center field and first base as areas of offensive deficiency for the Yankees.

A frustration that Aaron Boone has encountered throughout his tenure as manager of the New York Yankees is not being able to consistently fill out a lineup card with both Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton’s names in it. One day we will see Judge and Stanton both play in at least 150 ball games for the Yankees in the same season. Until then, Boone hopes that his biggest concern regarding Judge and Stanton is whether they should hit back-to-back in the lineup. A healthy Stanton can alleviate some of the pressure on offense, but the Yankees need to seriously address the poor first base and outfield production before it gets completely out of control.