STANTON IS FINALLY RUNNING, BUT DO THE YANKEES REALLY NEED HIM RIGHT NOW?

We finally have a little Giancarlo Stanton news, and this time it involves something other than swinging a bat.

Stanton has reached one of the more important stages of his recovery from a right calf strain: running.

Aaron Boone said Stanton jogged in the outfield Friday and has started easing into some baserunning work. That might not sound like some gigantic breakthrough, but with Stanton, it matters. Hitting has never really been the biggest concern during this rehab. It's whether that calf can hold up when he has to actually move.

Running the bases puts a completely different kind of stress on the body. Stanton has to accelerate, stop, turn, push off and react naturally without worrying about protecting that calf. That's the real test, and that's why the Yankees have been waiting to see him reach this point.

There is still no firm timetable for his return, and quite frankly, I'm not losing sleep over it.

Do the Yankees really need Stanton back right now? No. Look at what this team has been doing without him, especially this past week. They're playing good baseball, they're producing offensively and they're finding ways to win. That's what matters.

I'm not saying a healthy Stanton can't help. Of course he can. When he's locked in, he can still change a game with one swing. But the Yankees shouldn't be rearranging everything or rushing him back just because his name is Giancarlo Stanton. If the current lineup is clicking, let it click.

Stanton needs to prove he can run the bases, recover the next day and eventually handle everything that comes with playing in an actual game. Until then, there's really no reason to get overly excited about a few jogs in the outfield. So, we'll see what happens.

For now, at least we finally got a little update on this dude.

He's running. The Yankees are winning. 

In my opinion there's absolutely no reason to rush anything.