NEW YORK — With the Yankees ’ bats in their worst slump of the season, six runs in their last four games, they decided the time is right to turn Giancarlo Stanton loose. After three rehab games last week with the Double-A Somerset Patriots, Stanton was activated from the injured list on Monday.

Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton was activated and set to start against the Los Angeles Angels after missing New York’s first 70 games because of inflammation in the tendons of both elbows.

The New York Yankees are hoping Giancarlo Stanton is on his way back to the lineup. The superstar slugger has not played this season while dealing with an elbow injury, but is closing in on his return,

If Stanton’s time with the Yankees has proven nothing else, he cannot be counted on to play 150-plus games in a season. But if he can swing a bat in October, Stanton has a chance to be dangerous, so New York would be wise to keep him in a box to be opened at a later point in the regular season.

The Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton had a pair of singles and three RBIs for Double-A Somerset in his first game this year, and New York manager Aaron Boone said that it was too early to tell when the slugger might return to the big leagues.