Giancarlo Stanton is edging toward a postseason return, and that alone should make Cleveland uneasy.
The Yankees slugger has spent much of this season on the shelf because of calf injuries, but that changed a bit earlier this week when he took live at-bats at the Yankees’ “stay ready” camp at TD Bank Ballpark, the home park of the team’s Double-A affiliate. Manager Aaaron Boone said Stanton went deep - “what else is new” - and also ran the bases. Boone added that Stanton was “knocking on the door” for a postseason comeback.
For the Guardians, that’s a chilling update. Stanton has made a habit of damaging Cleveland in October, and the numbers are ugly from a Guardians perspective: eight of his 18 postseason home runs have come against Guardians pitching.
His track record against them has been brutal. In 2020, he homered in back-to-back games against Cleveland in the Wild Card Series. In 2024, he helped finish off the Yankees’ Championship Series win over the Guardians by homering in the final three games of the series.
He has also done damage in other postseason meetings. Stanton was named ALCS MVP after blasting a homer in four of the five games in that series. Before that, he had already built his reputation as a Cleveland nightmare with a strong showing in the 2022 ALDS, including a go-ahead home run off Aaron Civale in the winner-take-all Game 5.
Even if the Guardians wouldn’t see Stanton until the American League Championship Series - the winner of their Wild Card Series against the Yankees will play the Rays - the possibility is enough to raise the temperature.
That said, his return is not locked in. Stanton still has physical hurdles to clear, and his injury history remains a major part of the conversation. He has played in only 101 games since the start of 2025 because of injuries, and during his rehab he re-aggravated the calf injury three separate times.
Still, the Yankees may be willing to roll the dice on a limited version of Stanton, especially with Aaron Judge’s status uncertain because of his calf strain.
In Other News...
Guardians Have A Few Forgotten Names Who Could Crash Clevelands 2027 Plans
The Guardians are heading into the American League Division Series with the kind of roster fans know well, but the organizations long view is shaped by a few names farther down the depth chart. Right-hander Ben Lively has worked his way back from Tommy John surgery and pitched effectively in Triple-A, while Cooper Ingle has added value by moving between catcher and the outfield, giving Cleveland another flexible option to track.
Kahlil Watson is another player worth keeping an eye on as the club maps out its next wave. The young outfielder put together a strong minor league season and has already had a brief taste of the majors, which is enough to keep him in the conversation as Cleveland looks ahead to 2027 and beyond. For a team that has made a habit of finding contributors in unexpected places, these are the kinds of forgotten names that can quickly become part of the picture. [Read more 🡒]
Gavin Williams Just Gave Cleveland A Huge Reason To Believe
Gavin Williams spent the regular season giving Cleveland a front-line arm to lean on, and the numbers backed up what the Guardians saw every fifth day. He led the American League with 248 strikeouts, finished 14-8 with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP over 32 starts, and outpaced both Dylan Cease and Cam Schlittler in the strikeout race.
The encouraging part for Cleveland is that Williams did not fade as the schedule wore on. He sharpened in September, trimming his ERA and missing more bats while the Guardians were fighting for a playoff push, which only added to the sense that he was settling into the role they had been waiting for. For a club that has spent a lot of time searching for reliable rotation anchors, Williams just made the long view a little easier to picture. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Trade Deadline Looks Smarter As October Reality Hits Phillies
As Cleveland waits to make its postseason roster official, the early read on the clubs deadline work is encouraging. Nathaniel Lowe, Jo Adell and Foster Griffin are all expected to be included, giving the Guardians a chance to lean on the reinforcements they added when the market opened up.
Philadelphia offered a sharper contrast by unveiling its National League Wild Card Series roster without any of its deadline pickups, Caleb Kilian, Brooks Raley and Luis Arraez. Injuries have kept Kilian and Arraez out, while Raley was left off after a difficult stretch, a reminder that deadline deals can look good in July and much different by October. [Read more 🡒]