Giancarlo Stanton’s return to the game is near…

Prior to a 4-2 win over the New York Mets, the 32-year-old part-Puerto Rican professional baseball designated hitter and New York Yankees slugger told the media Monday that he was aiming to return in time for his team’s series in Oakland against the Athletics on Thursday.

Stanton went through live batting practice on Tuesday, facing off against Luis Severino, who threw as part of his injury rehab effort. Stanton will go through outfield work and stand in on a few more bullpens before the team determines whether he is good to move forward.

“Assuming that goes right, we’ll plan on him being activated for Thursday’s game,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday.

Stanton said Monday it would “stupid” to rush back, but he’s excited to eventually return to playing outfield despite the fact he would be the designated hitter to start out.

“I just want to jump in there and get some games under my belt to get a better gauge of it, but I help the team better when I’m in the outfield and make us more dynamic,” Stanton said. “So just as soon as possible.”

Boone also added that reliever Clay Holmes is expected to return off the injured list as soon as his 15 days are up, which would put him on track to come back by the team’s first game against the Angels on Aug. 29.

Additionally, the Yankees placed reliever Scott Effross on the injured list and activated Clarke Schmidt.