MLB Rumors: Jacob deGrom concern, Aaron Judge return, Marcell Ozuna DUI
By Mark Powell
MLB Rumors: Aaron Judge is back, but are the Yankees ready to take off?
The New York Yankees are 19-17, which is somehow only good for last place in the crowded AL East. Fans in the Bronx are impatient, and Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman are under fire for that reason.
While some fans hoped the activation of Aaron Judge would lead to some roster move involving Aaron Hicks, Cashman stuck to his guns and instead placed Oswald Peraza on the injured list. Peraza was struggling as is, so it made sense to give him some much-needed time off rather than eating $30 million, which is what would occur if Cashman simply admitted defeat for the Hicks contract he gave out years ago.
The Hicks extension is a bad move, that much is obvious. But for now he’s a depth piece on the Yanks bench, and that’s still valuable for a team that has so many injuries.
Yankee fans wanting to DFA Hicks instead of placing Oswald Peraza -- who is injured -- on the Injured List is very funny
— Yanks Go Yard (@YanksGoYardFS) May 9, 2023
With that in mind, the return of Judge will help. The Yankees are facing the lowly Oakland Athletics in the Bronx to start the week, which will hopefully lead to some easy wins. Beyond that, though, they still face some major hurdles. Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson, Luis Severino and Carlos Rodon are injured. Harrison Bader just came off the IL a few days ago, which has already paid dividends.
When this Yankees team is healthy, they’re postseason-caliber. New York is flawed, sure, but by no means is it time to hop off the bandwagon, regardless of how bad some of their roster moves have looked thus far.