Acce s the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. Paul Goldschmidt will return to St. Louis with the Yankees this weekend, but his availability against his former team remains in question. The seven-time All-Star first baseman was unavailable in with what was termed a low-grade sprain of his right knee. Goldschmidt spent five seasons with the Cardinals before signing a one-year deal with the Yankees last winter. I dont need any extra motivation to try to heal. Ill do everything I can, Goldschmidt said after the game. We want to go there and play well, and hopefully, Ill get a chance to play there. Aaron Boone acknowledged that a stint on the injured list was po sible, but the 37-year-old Goldschmidt pushed back on the a sertion, saying he doesnt believe its a long-term thing. Explore More Paul Goldschmidt is battling a low-grade sprain of his right knee, but hasnt been placed on the IL yet. Robert Sabo / New York Post CHECK OUT THE AND The Yankees have Ben Rice to play first base if Goldschmidt is sidelined, but they also could use Cody Bellinger there and play Ja son Domnguez in left field on the days Rice is used at catcher. Austin Wells is mired in a 5-for-50 slump with one homer, three RBIs and an anemic .344 OPS over his past 15 games. Bellinger has made two starts among six appearances at first base this season, and hes manned the position in 343 games during his career. Go beyond the box score with the Bombers Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+. Thank you By Dejounte Murray Jersey clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! Ryan Yarbrough and Fernando Cruz, both out since late June with oblique strains, began rehab a signments Thursday night with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with varying results. Yarbrough, who was a revelation as a fill-in starter, allowed three hits and a run in three innings, throwing 37 pitches and striking out three. Cruz followed and couldnt make it through an inning. He allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in just a third of an inning, throwing just 10 of his 21 pitches for strikes. Giancarlo Stanton rips a solo home during the Yankees blowout win over the Twins on Aug. 12, 2025. Corey Sipkin / New York Post With much made about Giancarlo Stanton playing three straight games in right field to allow Aaron Judge to serve as the designated hitter while he recovers from a right flexor strain, its been easy to overlook the veteran sluggers recent ascension on baseballs all-time home runs list. Stantons 447-foot blast in was the 441st of his 16-year MLB career. Stanton began the year in 51st place in MLB history, but despite mi sing more than two months to start the season with elbow i sues, he already has moved up to 44th with 12 homers in his first 43 appearances in 2025. He has surpa sed Cal Ripken Jr., Andruw Jones, Juan Gonzlez, Andre Dawson, Paul Konerko and Jason Giambi to move one homer behind Dave Kingman for 43rd place. Ive tried to remind him a couple of days, like, Here comes Kingman. You got Jason, a big one the other day, Boone said. I mean, theyre all big now, I gue s. But I enjoy it. I find it pretty cool. And I think in his own way, I think he enjoys it a little bit, too. Next up after Kingman are Hall of Famers Vladimir Guerrero and Jeff Bagwell at 449, with Carl Yastrzemski sitting in 40th place with 452 homers. Among active players, Stanton is easily ahead of Mike Trout (398), with Yankees teammates Goldschmidt (372) and Judge (353) ranking third and seventh, respectively. The latter went deep for the first time since returning from the injured list Tuesday night against Minnesota. Tim Duncan Jersey