Stanton could start rehab games as soon as next Tuesday with the Somerset Patriots, NJ.com's Randy Miller reports. If all goes well, he might be back in pinstripes for the Yankees’ June 16 series opener against the Angels at Yankee Stadium. It’s been a long road back for Stanton.

Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton is getting closer and closer to returning. He’s been in Tampa for most of the last two work weeks getting five or six at-bats daily facing minor leaguers in simulated games at the club’s player development complex.

Nearly two weeks after Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Stanton was "getting really close to doing a rehab assignment," Boone said on Wednesday that Stanton would be in New York and advance to next steps imminently. On May 25, Cashman told MLB Network Radio that Stanton was hitting off of a pitching machine and "doing everything."