Yankees add outfield depth, send Giancarlo Stanton to 60-day IL in procedural move

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on May 1, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — The Yankees added some outfield depth on Thursday afternoon, claiming Bryan De La Cruz off waivers from the Braves.

The right-handed hitter was optioned to Triple-A. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Yankees transferred Giancarlo Stanton (tennis elbows) to the 60-day injured list.

The Stanton move is simply a procedural one, as he missed all of spring training and was never expected back within 60 days.

De La Cruz, meanwhile, hit just .191/.240/.213 with zero homers and zero RBIs over 16 games for Atlanta this season. The 28-year-old put up similarly uninspiring numbers over 11 games at Triple-A.

However, De La Cruz has shown some pop in the past, hitting 53 home runs over 417 games for the Marlins and Pirates from 2022-2024. He is a .251/.295/.402 lifetime hitter with 58 homers and 208 RBIs over 491 total games.

The Yankees have been looking for right-handed bats since spring training. De La Cruz’s arrival shouldn’t bring that search to an end, as he only has a .697 OPS vs. lefties. He’s been pretty much the same against righties, tallying a .698 OPS.

De La Cruz is not considered a strong defender; he’s recorded -18 Outs Above Average for his career while primarily playing the corners. However, he does have two minor league options, giving the Yankees some flexibility should they need it.