Here’s why Aaron Judge was removed from the Yankees line-up

The New York Yankees mysteriously scratched Aaron Judge from the lineup before Wednesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

It was a strange Wednesday night in Florida for the Yankees.

First, they scratched outfielder Aaron Judge ahead of their game with the Rays. Then they traded a load of prospects to the Rangers for All-Star outfielder Joey Gallo. Then, they put Judge back into the lineup in halfway through the outing.

There was no apparent explanation for Judge being scratched. However, after the game started he appeared at Tropicana Field and got into the game as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning.

He stayed in the game at right field, striking out in his first two plate appearances, then hitting a single in the 10th to put the Yankees ahead.

Why was Aaron Judge scratched from the Yankees lineup?

Judge being scratched wasn’t related to a trade, even though the timing of it was conspicuous considering the development with Gallo. He has been the subject of trade rumors, but the fact that he came back into the lineup doesn’t fit with a trade scenario.

Nor was his brief absence health or injury-related. He did just come back from the COVID-19 list for Tuesday’s win over Tampa Bay, but that doesn’t appear to explain the situation on Wednesday.

The Yankees declined to explain the issue, so it’s all a mystery until the team offers up more information on their star outfielder.

The best guess at this point is something in Judge’s personal life delayed his arrival to the game, whether a family emergency or something else.

Whatever it was, the Yankees rolled with it, allowing the player to enter the game when he could.

Judge was an All-Star for the third time this year. He’s batting .282/.375/.522 with 21 home runs and 47 RBI.