The New York Yankees are optimistic and eager about their big bats in the lineup as the first half of the regular season wraps up.
Fans of the New York Yankees may not realize it, but things are about to heat up even more for the Bombers. They’re currently sitting at first place in the AL East and their lineup’s big bats are still yet to return.
Slugger Giancarlo Stanton is expected to be activated from the injured list on Tuesday. Aaron Judge isn’t too far from making his return either. Oh, and not to mention, they just traded for Edwin Encarnacion, who hit 21 home runs with 49 RBI through 65 games for the Seattle Mariners this year.
If the Yankees aren’t in a good enough position already, they’re surely going to be in the coming months. Their overall lineup is about to look very scary for opposing American League teams.
“We’ve got a lot of talented guys in the room, and a lot of talented guys heading back, which will do nothing but make our team stronger,” Brett Gardner said on Sunday, per Coley Harvey of ESPN. “Anytime you can add somebody as good as Edwin, he’s a guy who’s going to make us better.”
The Yankees are currently .5 games above the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. New York and Tampa Bay begin a three-game series on Monday at Yankee Stadium. At this point in the season, it should be an extremely important string of games for both ballclubs.
The Bombers getting some of their big bats back in this stage of the year is crucial, and manager Aaron Boone is aware of the importance.
“Encarnacion, Stanton and Judge — that’s three elite power hitters plugged into our lineup,” Boone said. “Hopefully, it’s something that over time creates a big-time advantage for us.”
The Yankees start a three-game series against the Rays on Monday at 7:05 p.m. ET.
