Yankees expecting Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge back soon and that’s bad news for the Rays

The Yankees have been without Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton for most of the season, but the return to the lineup for the slugging outfielders is imminent.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday on The Michael Kay Show star outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton could both be back in the lineup by the team’s next homestand, which begins on Monday, June 17.

Judge hit .288 with five home runs in 20 games before being placed on the injured list with an oblique injury. Stanton played just three games before hitting the IL with a left biceps strain. Shoulder and calf setbacks have hindered Stanton’s rehab, significantly extending his initial recovery timetable.

Boone said Judge could start a rehab assignment as soon as Friday, while Stanton has already begun his at Single-A Tampa. The former MVP is set to join Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday for the final stage of his rehab assignment.

It all adds up to the pair of powerful outfielders each re-joining the major league club by mid-to-late June, just a few weeks after getting Didi Gregorius and Aaron Hicks back from injury. The Yankees are getting healthy heading into the summer. Tied with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees hope to put some separation between them heading into the All-Star Break next month.

A year after finishing in baseball’s top three in nearly every offensive category, the Yankees currently sit in the league’s top ten in home runs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage — and that’s with most of their pop sitting on the shelf all season. Judge and Stanton will be a welcome addition to a squad that’s been running out Cameron Maybin and Gio Urshela on a daily basis.

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When the Yankees were decimated by injuries in March and April, the expectation – or hope – around the franchise was that they could tread water around .500 until reinforcements arrived. They’ve blown those expectations out of the water, sitting 16 games over .500 at 41-25 on the backs of career minor leaguers and journeymen.

And as the Red Sox sit e8ght games back to contain middling teams like the Rangers, the Evil Empire is set to deliver the knockout blow.