Yankees place Giancarlo Stanton on IL with hamstring strain

Giancarlo Stanton has returned to the injured list — and the Yankees don’t know when the injury-plagued slugger might be ready to return to the lineup.

Stanton, who was placed on the 10-day injured list on Sunday with a left hamstring strain suffered in Saturday night’s game in Tampa, will receive an MRI on Monday in New York to determine the gravity of the injury.

After being limited to 18 matches last season, the former MVP — who also suffered a calf strain during spring training and was sidelined in last year’s ALCS —will make his third trip to the injured list since putting on pinstripes in 2018.

Even with his workload lightened as a full-time designated hitter, Stanton, 30, will miss an important portion of the 60-game regular season. Again, Aaron Boone will attempt to determine how best to maintain the health of Stanton, who is only in the sixth year of his record-breaking 13-year, $325 million deal.

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“This will be something that we continue to try and help him avoid these situations moving forward. That’s gonna be a process,” Boone said before Sunday’s game versus the Rays. “I feel like he can get there. Obviously, having the injury that he had in spring training and basically rehabbing that through spring and through quarantine and everything creates a little bit of a challenge, but there’s no doubt I feel like physically he’s in a much better place and hopefully we can continue to make strides, not only in the present, but also in the offseason, that will set him up to be healthy over the long term.”

In 14 matches this season, Stanton hit .293 with three home runs, seven RBIs and a 1.038 OPS.

Before straining his hamstring while advancing on a wild pitch in Saturday’s nightcap, Stanton was 2-for-3 with two walks during the doubleheader.

The Yankees replaced Stanton with taxi-squad infielder Thairo Estrada, but Boone said the Yankees could make another move — potentially bringing back Miguel Andujar — after the series. Mike Ford was slotted to DH on Sunday, with Boone open to how he’d use the position until Stanton’s return.

“We’ll get a little creative,” Boone said.

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