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By Andrew Wright
Contributing Sports Writer
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As it was reported over the weekend by Greg Joyce of the New York Post, New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton's return to the diamond is getting closer.
Stanton is expected to travel to Tampa, Florida for two weeks to begin swinging and preparing to return to the Yankees lineup. When he is ready to return, he will certainly be inserted into the lineup on a daily basis.
There are only nine spots in that lineup and when both Stanton and Jazz Chisholm return from injury, these three players will be fighting to continue to get every day at-bats.
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Austin Wells, Catcher
The emergence of Ben Rice this season has put Wells starting catching spot in jeopardy when Stanton returns to the lineup.
Wells is batting just .206 with a .708 OPS. Compare that to the .244 average and .856 OPS held by Rice and it's not very hard to figure out who will get a majority of the playing time.
If he is not able to turn things around in a hurry, Wells will go from the player that led off the Yankees season with a home run to a backup catcher that plays two games per week.
Oswald Peraza, INF
Yankees fans keep waiting on the former Top 10 prospect's breakout, but it just has not come yet. He's hitting just .165 with three home runs in 79 at-bats and has an OPS of just .583.
He has gotten a majority of the playing time at third base since the injury to Oswaldo Cabrera, but if he continues to struggle, he could very well be the odd man out when Stanton returns to New York.
DJ LeMahieu, INF
LeMahieu recently returned from the injured list and has not done very many productive things on the field since his return.
In 34 at-bats, LeMahieu is batting .207 with just one home run and an OPS of .564. He still looks nothing like the player he was just three seasons ago when he batted .261 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs.
If he is not able to turn things around prior to Stanton's return, the Yankees may finally pull the plug and send LeMahieu on his way out of town after seven seasons with the team.
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