Giancarlo Stanton Returns Tuesday For New York Yankees Vs. Rays

The New York Yankees' lineup is going to be downright frightening to opposing pitchers very soon. On Monday, Edwin Encarnacion made his Yankees debut after being acquired in trade over the weekend from the Seattle Mariners. Encarnacion has had seven consecutive seasons with at least 30 home runs, tops in the majors. No. 2 is Nelson Cruz (Twins) with five.

On Tuesday, arguably the most feared slugger in the sport, Giancarlo Stanton, will play a big-league game for the first time since March 31. He has been out with a left biceps strain. That actually healed weeks ago, but then Stanton was dealing with a left shoulder injury. Stanton hit five homers in five minor-league rehab games. He was 2-for-8 with four strikeouts and seven walks in three early-season MLB games before landing on the injured list.

Stanton was the team's primary designated hitter in 2018 but now will mostly return to the outfield with the acquisition of Encarnacion. Stanton hit 38 bombs with 100 RBIs last year, his first in pinstripes. The year before he hit a career-high 59 homers with the Marlins in winning NL MVP.

Finally, outfielder Aaron Judge is likely to be activated from the injured list later this week. He has been out since April 20 with a strained left oblique muscle. Judge was hitting .288 with five homers and 11 RBIs in 73 big-league at-bats this year. He hit an MLB rookie-record 52 homers in 2017 in winning AL Rookie of the Year but dropped to 27 in 2018 while limited to 112 games.

Tuesday's Rays-Yankees game has a first pitch of 7:05 p.m. ET from Yankee Stadium. The Bombers are solid favorites on the MLB odds behind lefty J.A. Happ (6-3, 4.66). He hasn't faced Tampa Bay this year. The Rays go with southpaw Ryan Yarbrough (5-3, 5.59). It's his first look this year at the Yankees. Stanton is 3-for-6 with two doubles and a homer off Yarbrough.