Aaron Judge Returning to Yankees’ Lineup
Here’s something for New York Yankees fans to cheer about: Aaron Judge is back.
The 2022 AL MVP returned from the 10-day injured list ahead of Friday’s series opener versus the Baltimore Orioles. He’s been sidelined since June 3rd due to a toe injury sustained while making a running catch that caused him to crash into the right-field wall at Dodger Stadium.
To make room for Judge on the active roster, the Yankees optioned infielder Oswald Peraza to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. They also created a 40-man roster spot by designating outfielder Willie Calhoun for assignment after activating him off the 10-day IL.
There was plenty of speculation earlier this week regarding Judge’s potential return, with the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reporting he was “likely to return” on Friday. At the time, however, the Yankees weren’t ready to put an official date on any potential activation.
The 31-year-old slugger took live batting practice at Yankee Stadium last Sunday before travelling to the organization’s training complex in Tampa, Fla., where he continued rehabbing his right toe. His progression included batting reps, running the bases and playing the outfield during simulated games.
But as much as Judge’s toe has improved, it won’t be fully healed upon his return to the majors, suggesting his availability will likely be determined by his pain tolerance moving forward.
New York, however, feels confident about successfully managing its superstar’s workload through the remainder of the season. In doing so, the hope is that he can contribute more than just as a designated hitter. But having to settle for just his bat wouldn’t hurt, either.
“He just started taking live at-bats. So yeah, we’ll do whatever we have to do,” Boone said earlier this week. “But he’s got to build up from kind of a workload standpoint of, you don’t just go from taking batting practice or lifting weights or working out to going out and playing nine innings, whether it’s DH or right field. But hoping and feeling that right field will be in play. So this is all just part of kind of building him up a little better.”
The Yankees have looked lost without Judge, especially offensively, scoring the second-fewest runs (163) in the majors since June 3rd. They also rank 25th in SLG (.374), 27th in OBP (.296) and last in AVG (.220).
As a result, the team has faltered to a 19-23 record in Judge’s absence, ushering them to the bottom of the AL East Division, 2.5 games back of the final wild-card seed. So you can bet everyone will be excited to have No. 99 back in the lineup.
Before landing on the IL, the five-time All-Star blasted 19 home runs and drove in 40 runs, slashing .291/.404/.674 with a 187 wRC+ across 49 games. He was also worth 2.7 fWAR before a battle with the right-field wall in Los Angeles cost him almost two months.
Last season, Judge broke the AL home-run record with 62 round-trippers, passing the legendary Roger Maris. His stat line also included 131 RBIs, a .311/.425/.686 slash line and a 207 wRC+ over 157 contests, worth a career-best 11.5 fWAR.
That historic performance allowed the three-time Silver Slugger to successfully bet on himself, as he ultimately inked a monster nine-year, $360-million contract extension last off-season after declining New York’s initial offer before Opening Day 2022.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
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