Aaron Judge is not a player who takes his role as the captain of the New York Yankees lightly. That's precisely why he's taking the time to stop and defender Oswald Peraza in the midst of his own legendary offensive campaign. Being the team's skipper isn't just a platitude for the towering outfielder.
Manager Aaron Boone's club has ridden a hot streak to build a six-game cushion in the AL East standings, but not every member of the roster is playing at a high level. There's no way around the reality that Peraza has been a drag on the team's offensive production. He's scuffled his way to a .158 batting average through 76 at-bats.
No one inside the organization expected Peraza to be an offensive superstar but he's been borderline unplayable to date. Opposing pitchers regularly attack the strike zone against him with little concern over what he might be able to do with the bat in his hands. The outstanding production of those around him in Boone's batting order have only served to highlight Peraza's own deficiencies.
That's why Judge has made a concerted effort to come to the versatile infielder's defense. He recently went on record with the New York media that "good things" would happen for Peraza once he was given the opportunity to play every day. That's a rosy forecast for a player who has shown little, if any, signs of offensive progress in recent weeks.
Peraza's playing time figures to shrink when Jazz Chisholm makes his return from injury in the coming weeks. There's no logical argument to play Peraza over any member of the current roster at the moment. He's far too big of a weakness at the plate to justify meaningful playing time.
The only plus aspect of Peraza's game at the moment is his glove. That was his calling card coming up through New York's minor league system and he has been solidly above average on defense this season. That might not be enough to keep him on the Yankees' roster if the rest of Boone's infield gets healthy. Playing plus defense at multiple infield spots is a nice bonus but it won't be worth anything to Peraza if he cannot combine in with something approacing league average offensive production.
Judge is savvy enough to see what might be coming towards his teammate. Attempting to infuse him with a bit of confidence is a clever move by the veteran captain. If it helps Peraza then Judge will look like a heroic captain who knew just when to encourage his struggling teammate.
Aaron Judge is doing what a captain does
If Peraza fails and ultimately is released, Judge will still be viewed as a benevolent leader who did all he could to help an overmatched teammate succeed despite his lack of major league talent. It's a win-win situation for a Yankee captain that knows how the New York media can be manipulated.
It's a much more dire situation for Peraza. He was one of the organization's brightest prospects just two years ago when he engaged with Anthony Volpe in a Spring Training battle to win the starting shortstop position. Volpe excelled while Peraza faltered during a spring which was ultimately cut short due to injury. Nothing he's done since has done anything to raise his stock in the eyes of team officials.
For GM Brian Cashman, holding on to Peraza in the face of multiple trade offers will go as another black mark on his resume. Critics of the veteran official will point to this as an example of the sort of prospect hugging that's dominated his tenure in charge of the front office. More rational fans might point out that holding onto Volpe at the exact same time should more than balance out misevaluating Peraza's potential.
In truth, Peraza showcased elite fielding skills in the minors which made betting on his offensive tools to develop a reasonable decision. Judge's public support of him may be the organization's last effort to revive his viability as a quality major league player. At the moment, it looks like Peraza's best chances of achieving that feat will lie with a team other than the Yankees. Judge's kind words won't be enough to prolong Peraza's career in pinstripes.