Seven. That’s how many players the Yankees have on their injury list. Add to that their 20-21 record since the start of June, and the concerns become even more valid. Furthermore, there have been no clear updates on Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge. In fact, Aaron Boone himself admitted that he doesn’t “have a timeline” for Stanton’s return. But within the course of just a few hours, he has switched up the narrative.

“Someone in our front office came to me and goes, ‘Did you tell the media that [Stanton] wasn’t close?’ I’m like, ‘No, I just said I don’t know when it is,’” Boone added, as per Talkin’ Yanks on X. “So I think people assumed that it’s gonna be this long time, which I don’t anticipate it’s going to be too long. He’s actually doing pretty well. I think he’ll be back in a reasonable amount of time.”

Back in late April, Stanton’s 10-day IL began with a low-grade right calf strain and was made retroactive to April 25. Just a day before in Houston, he was at first base after hitting an RBI single when he reportedly started feeling the tightness as he jogged to second after Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked. J.C. Escarra.

The play happened during the sixth inning, and the 36-year-old was halfway between second and third base when he started trotting. Later, he was replaced by the pinch-runner Randal Grichuk. At this time, the designated hitter was batting .256 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 24 games.

Over the past few weeks, there has been very little information on the progress of Stanton’s recovery, with the club maintaining that he has continued his running progression. However, the insiders have been providing updates.

“Giancarlo Stanton isn’t close to returning. Though Stanton has resumed his running progression after a recent calf strain, #Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday there is “no timeline” for Stanton to play in Minor League games,” Bryan Hoch wrote on X, just a day ago.

In fact, multiple other reports indicated an indefinite return timeline, and that caused a lot of worry given the impact he has had during his eight seasons with the Yankees. To top that, his injury history has not provided much relief either.

Beyond this, he has had trouble with his knee, biceps, and right quad. In fact, Stanton has not played a full season since 2018, which also happens to be his first year with the New York Yankees.

What is more, even Yankees captain Aaron Judge is on the IL, and his return timeline appears hazy as well. He has been performing lower-body exercises, and he has recently started some weight room exercises as well. During the All-Star break, he went through re-imaging again, which revealed signs of healing, but he is still not cleared for baseball activities.

And while the Yankees think that he can make an August return, many analysts are not in agreement. Then there are injuries to other key players like Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, Carlos Lagrange, and Luis Gil. While Fried is expected to make his return this Wednesday, Rodon is expected to be back by late July. Meanwhile, Schmidt and Lagrange have return timelines of August and September, respectively.

As the key pieces remain out, the Yankees’ struggles are more explicit than ever.

The Yankees continue to struggle for consistency

Starting the second half of the season, the Yankees tanked their first series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Currently in the middle of a four-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Yankees won the series opener, while the second game was postponed.

Before the All-Star break, the Yankees had shown signs of momentum by sweeping the Washington Nationals. Prior to that, they had split their series against the Tampa Bay Rays, but that came only after the club had endured a particularly difficult stretch.

They had lost back-to-back series against the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, and the Minnesota Twins.

As of now, they are second in the AL East with a 56-44 record and are 2.0 games behind the leaders, the Rays. And even though the Yankees are leading the AL Wild Card race, they could soon be threatened by their arch-rivals if their surge continues. The Boston Red Sox are riding a 14-game win streak, which is the longest in the majors this year. No team has won 15 in a row since the 2021 Cardinals.

While the Yankees continue to navigate their turbulent season, consistent performance remains the priority if they want their World Series dreams to come true.