Aaron Judge returns to try and save the Yankees’ floundering season

By MARK GRAY, MLBbro Special to the AmNews

Aaron Judge returned to the New York Yankees lineup last Friday after a prolonged hiatus that put the team in postseason peril.

The 2022 American League Most Valuable Player was activated from the injured list after tearing a ligament in his right big toe when he ran into the right field fence while making a catch on June 3 in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.

Despite Judge’s absence and his need to get his timing at the plate back, it’s obvious that pitchers still approach him very carefully as he walked three times in a 1–0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

His presence was significant in Game 2 of the three-game series as Judge collected three hits and a home run to lead the Yankees to an 8–3 victory. He also inspired his fellow MLBbro Giancarlo Stanton, who broke an 0–11 stretch with a homer of his own.

Most of all, Judge’s return means hope for the Yankees, who after losing 5–2 to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night in the Bronx, were

55–52 and in last place in the American League East. They trailed the division leading Orioles (66–41) by 11 games going into Wednesday’s Major League Baseball schedule. But the Yankees were still in the thick of the wild card race, sitting 3.5 games out of the third spot.

“It’s not 100%. I don’t think it’ll be 100% until the end of the year,” Judge said to reporters at Camden Yards last weekend. “I think our biggest goal is just getting to a point where I could play, I could tolerate it.”

While Judge tried to project confidence that his injury was something he could play through for the remainder of the season, he was cautious to remind fans and followers that he probably wasn’t going to be without discomfort as long as he is on the field.

The all-time American League singleseason home run king, set last season when he hit 62, is mindful that despite being cleared to play, the process of a full recovery will be incremental.

“We’re at a point where, talking with a couple of doctors, the ligament is stable. The last couple of MRIs didn’t really show much healing, but this one did. We’re in a really good spot right now,” he said.

As of Tuesday, Judge, who played in 157 of the Yankees 162 regular season games last season, had appeared in just 53 this year. He was batting .298 with 20 home runs and 42 RBI.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone doesn’t expect Judge to be the team’s savior, but acknowledges that having the captain back makes an immediate difference. However, he said they need to approach the still recovering slugger’s return with caution.

“We’ve got to be smart about that and make sure that in talking to Aaron, making sure he’s honest with his feedback about how he’s recovering, how he’s bouncing back,” Boone said. “Obviously, how the toe’s doing, but how everything else is doing.”

The Yankees were 35–25 when Judge went on the injured list and plummeted afterward, going 19–24 prior to his return.

“Any time you’re sitting out, even if we were winning and we had an eight-game lead in the division, or we were 10 games out of it, I want to be back out there battling with the guys,” Judge said.