ARLINGTON, Texas — After getting 72 hours to see if his calf could make enough improvement, Giancarlo Stanton still could not avoid the injured list.
The Yankees DH is headed for the 10-day IL after an MRI on Monday revealed a “low-grade” right calf strain, manager Aaron Boone said after a 4-2 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field.
“Doesn’t look too serious, but enough to not want to wait a couple more days,” Boone said. “So we’ll see what we have as the week unfolds.”
The 36-year-old Stanton, who has been plagued by soft-tissue leg injuries in recent years, sustained the strain Friday night in Houston while jogging from first to second base and eventually exited the game after reaching third.
The Yankees are hoping that he came out before the calf injury turned into something more severe, but it will still knock Stanton out at least until next Tuesday.
The Yankees called up Jasson Domínguez earlier on Monday and started him at DH against Rangers righty Jack Leiter.
With Anthony Volpe potentially returning from the IL as soon as Friday, it remains to be seen whether Domínguez will get a longer stretch to fill the DH role while Stanton is sidelined.
Boone said it “could be” just a minimum 10-day stint, but he did not want to put a timetable on it.
Stanton was batting .256 with a .724 OPS, three home runs and 14 RBIs through 24 games.
“It’s [a] huge [loss],” Aaron Judge said. “He’s a big force in the middle of our lineup. Big RBI production. But I’m hoping it’s a small stint. He was able to catch it early hopefully and he’ll be back out there.”
For the second time this year, Aaron Boone had to have a tough conversation with Luis Gil.
Both conversations centered on his demotion to Triple-A.
Another rough outing against the Astros exposed areas where the former AL Rookie of the Year needs work, which he will address in the minors.
“I would say he took it well. I think he was clear-eyed,” Boone said Monday at Globe Life Field. “I feel good about what his focus is going to be going down there. As we’ve tried to get him back to that form that we’ve seen him at, he’s done a lot of the things that have moved the needle in a lot of ways, with his winter program. Physically, he’s in some of the best physical conditioning and strength of his life. He’s a young man still.
“I think the best thing for him right now is to go down there and hopefully continue to work and hopefully string together some starts in a less-pressurized situation that gets him on track to being the guy he can be.”
Left unsaid is that the clock may be running out on Gil’s chances of impacting the rotation this season.
Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole are on the way back from the injured list, both expected to return at some point in May, while the Yankees also have top pitching prospects knocking at the door in Triple-A, including Elmer Rodríguez and Carlos Lagrange.
For now, the Yankees will use someone other than Gil by the time they next need a fifth starter (by May 5 at the latest).
It could be Rodríguez, or perhaps a bullpen game started by one of their long men, Ryan Yarbrough or Paul Blackburn.
But it will not be Rodón, who still needs at least two more rehab starts, the next one coming Thursday at Double-A Somerset (with Cole making his third start there Wednesday).
Gil, meanwhile, is headed back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after starting the season there.
He is still trying to rediscover the consistent life on his four-seam fastball, which is not generating close to the whiff rate it once did when he was at his best (9.5 percent this season, 28.5 percent in 2024).
“We’ve seen improvements in some of his work, but it’s about getting the fastball/slider/changeup now all a tick better,” Boone said. “Because once they all get a tick better, then they all help each other. It’s just been a little short there and a little inconsistent.”
Anthony Volpe will play rehab games Tuesday and Wednesday at Double-A Somerset, after which the Yankees will reevaluate his status — with the potential of him rejoining them by Friday’s series opener against the Orioles in The Bronx.
Paul DeJong informed the Yankees that he is planning to opt out of his minor league deal by the end of the month if he is not promoted to the big leagues, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported Monday.
The veteran infielder has hit .213 with a .900 OPS and six home runs in 22 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
But barring an injury at the big league level — especially with Volpe on the verge of returning from the injured list — the Yankees are unlikely to call DeJong up.
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