Yankees place Giancarlo Stanton on IL. What could it mean for the roster?

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Yankees are getting closer to making their first interesting roster decision of the season.

New York placed Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list on Monday after an MRI revealed a low-grade calf strain, manager Aaron Boone said. The Yankees can retroactively place Stanton on the IL from April 24, meaning the earliest he is eligible to be activated is May 4. Boone did not want to give a timetable for a possible return for Stanton, but considering his injury history, it made sense to be cautious with the slugger.

“It doesn’t look too serious, but enough to not want to wait a couple more days,” Boone said. “We’ll see what we have as the week unfolds.”

Before Stanton returns, the Yankees may activate shortstop Anthony Volpe from the IL. Volpe is continuing his rehab assignment following offseason shoulder surgery and could be ready for the majors ahead of this weekend’s series against the Baltimore Orioles. Boone said before Monday’s 4-2 win over the Texas Rangers that they have not yet decided on Volpe’s return date, but if all goes well for him in the coming days, he is expected to be cleared by the end of the week.

When Volpe returns, the Yankees have a few decisions to make for their 26-man roster.

They could simply demote Jasson Domínguez to the minor leagues. Domínguez was promoted to the majors on Monday and made his season debut, batting sixth as the Yankees’ designated hitter and finishing 1-for-4. With the Rangers starting right-handers Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi over the next two games, Domínguez will have an opportunity to play. Boone also indicated that Domínguez could play left field in one of the games to allow a DH day for Aaron Judge, who went 3-for-3 with his 11th home run of the season and two doubles on Monday.

Boone said Domínguez’s defense in Triple A has just been “OK,” noting some mistakes he’s made.

Improving defensively in the field and batting from the right side of the plate were the two main things the Yankees needed to see the 23-year-old get better at in the minors. In 16 plate appearances from the right side, Domínguez has shown growth, posting a 1.172 OPS against lefties with encouraging underlying metrics.

“He’s been raking in Triple A,” Judge said of Domínguez. “I think he was definitely upset not making the team out of camp. I think he’s gonna show up here ready to prove some people wrong and kind of send a message. I’m excited about it.”

Sending Domínguez back to Triple A after potentially just three games despite a clear opportunity for him to play close to every day in the majors would incense the fanbase. General manager Brian Cashman said before the season that he believed Domínguez should be getting everyday reps, which are now available to him on the major-league level with Stanton out.

If the Yankees keep Domínguez on the roster, that leaves three realistic options for them to consider: demote J.C. Escarra to the minors or designate veterans Randal Grichuk or Paul Goldschmidt for assignment. Demoting Escarra, the backup catcher, seems unlikely. Ben Rice, who hit his 10th home run of the season on Monday, is the team’s third catcher and has yet to appear behind the plate.

With how valuable Rice is offensively, the Yankees will want to keep him as fresh as possible, increasing the likelihood of keeping Escarra.

That leaves designating Grichuk or Goldschmidt if the Yankees want to keep Domínguez in the majors. With Rice’s emergence and his viability against left-handed pitching, Goldschmidt’s value to the roster has taken a hit. But the Yankees are paying him $4 million this season — and even though he’s batting .179, his underlying metrics suggest there’s still juice left in his bat.

Grichuk has started to heat up after starting his Yankees career 0-for-15, going 6 for his last 18 with four doubles and improved metrics. The Yankees brought Grichuk to spring training as a non-roster invitee, and he made the team out of camp as a right-handed hitting outfielder. But his role can easily be replaced if the Yankees decide to move on.

With Volpe bound to retake the starting shortstop job, José Caballero will be pushed to the bench. The Yankees will need to find him frequent at-bats, along with Amed Rosario. Both Caballero and Rosario have outfield experience, so they could fill Grichuk’s role on the roster.

Whenever Stanton returns, the clearest path to get him back on the roster would be to send Domínguez back down. But in the meantime, there’s a path for Domínguez to get everyday reps in the majors. They could also use the DH spot as a platoon, using Domínguez against right-handed pitchers, and Goldschmidt against lefties.

But the Yankees should use this time to see if Domínguez can produce on the major-league level. There’s still reason to believe that he can impact the 2026 roster in a meaningful way.

“He deserves a lot of credit,” Boone said. “I think one thing the last four months has revealed is Jasson Domínguez’s character. Because when we did some of the things we did this winter, there was all the talk and writing on the wall maybe that he was going to potentially start in Triple A. All he did was come and work. Showed up early to spring training ready to go, had a good spring and then has gone down to Triple A.

“As a young player, when you’ve been here and had some success at the big league level and you got to go back, a lot of times you see guys struggle and not do well or pout a little bit. He hasn’t done any of that. He’s worked hard, he’s performing and he deserves to be here right now.”