Yankees hopeful Giancarlo Stanton will return by end of month

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.From the day he arrived at spring training, Giancarlo Stanton has made it clear he will have to manage the pain in his elbows whenever he returns from the injured list.That day may finally be approaching — perhaps by the end of this month — and after facing live pitching for the first time Tuesday, the veteran DH was feeling good enough to take more batting practice on the field Wednesday as he continues to ramp up his workload.“I don’t want to keep talking about this, because I’ve been over and over it,” Stanton said Wednesday when asked about the specifics of his elbow pain.

“If I’m out there, I’m good enough to play.There’s no levels of anything else.”Stanton and the Yankees have declined to put a timetable on his return from tennis elbows throughout this process, though his recent transfer to the 60-day IL ensured it will not come before May 23.

But it may not be long after that if the 35-year-old keeps progressing like he has been lately, especially because as a DH he will not need the typical rehab assignment that most would after missing the first two months of the season.When Stanton has returned from the IL in recent seasons, his rehab assignments (if he took one at all) have lasted just a game or two, because the Yankees feel the work he gets off the Trajekt (a pitching machine that mimics pitch shapes of real major leaguers) and live batting practice sessions are just as beneficial.Stanton indicated Wednesday he would “probably” need some rehab games depending on which rehabbing teammates were available for him to face in live batting practice before then.“I know when G.’s in there, he’s ready to go,” Boone said before the Yankees’ 4-3 comeback win over the Padres in The Bronx.

“He’s not going to be in there if he doesn’t feel like he can be really productive.I know when...