Aaron Judge's early return will only hurt the Yankees playoff chances

On Tuesday, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that Aaron Judge has a "moderate" calf strain, and as a result of that injury, he wasn't expected to be available for the Wild Card series. Based on the "moderate" strain, it seemed fair to assume that Judge would be out beyond the Wild Card series, too. Well, roughly 24 hours later, Judge revealed to ESPN's Jorge Castillo that he intends to play in the Wild Card series next week. Yup, he went from likely out to expecting to play in just one day, seemingly out of nowhere.

To take matters further, Judge said, "I don’t know why he used those words," when discussing Boone revealing that he has a "moderate" strain. So, to sum up, we have no idea whether Judge will be active or even what injury he actually has. What does feel fair to say, though, is that Judge returning early would hurt, not help, his team.

A compromised version of Aaron Judge would not help the Yankees win

If you want proof of this, look no further than when Judge returned from his previous injury. Judge, fresh off three months on the sidelines due to a fractured rib, returned to the Yankees' lineup in mid-September without a rehab assignment (thanks to him forcing that issue) and proceeded to go 4-for-23 with 13 strikeouts and one walk.

Does that sound like Aaron Judge? If Judge struggled that badly last time, does anyone expect him to be any better this time around? How would that version, or something worse, of Judge actually help the Yankees win?

Normally, having any version of Judge, even one performing at 60 percent of his capabilities, would be a great addition for the Yankees. After all, at 100 percent, he's the best hitter on the planet. Unfortunately, Judge looked like a shell of himself before the calf injury. How will he look against postseason competition with all the pressure in the world on his shoulders after rushing back from a potentially serious calf injury? The Yankees shouldn't want to know.

Aaron Judge's return would make lineup construction extremely complicated for the Yankees

It's fair to assume that at least part of the reason why Judge suffered his calf strain was that the Yankees played him in right field in six of his seven games, DH'ing him just once. That wouldn't have been the preferred course of action coming off such a long layoff, but given their roster construction, they didn't have much a choice.

Both Ben Rice and Luis Garcia are first basemen who can't really play elsewhere yet are too valuable to remove from the lineup. Rice just hit his 40th and 41st home runs of the year on Wednesday, and has been the Yankees' position player MVP with Judge missing so much time. Garcia, even with his recent slump, trails only Yordan Alvarez and Pete Crow-Armstrong, the MVP favorites in their respective leagues, in slugging percentage among those with at least 500 plate appearances. Since both of these players are essentially only first basemen, one of them needs to play the position while the other soaks up the designated hitter at-bats.

While sure, Garcia doesn't play against lefties, Paul Goldschmidt has a .990 OPS against left-handed pitchers. Goldschmidt is also, you guessed it, a first baseman. Rice plays every day (as he should) while Garcia and Goldschmidt platoon. Where does that leave Judge?

It was one thing to play Judge in right field coming off the rib injury, but are they really going to have him run around in the outfield after rushing his way back from a calf injury? Would that not be Judge essentially begging to suffer a more serious injury? How many times in all sports have we seen calf strains lead to something far more serious when not handled delicately?

Aaron Judge must take his captain responsibilities seriously

I understand that Judge is eager to play. Not only has he missed substantial time, but this might be his best chance to get back to the World Series. The Yankees are fortunate to have arguably the best rotation in the sport, and are in the weakest American League I can remember. New York has won 91 games even with Judge, their best player, missing more than half of the year. With that being said, as captain of the team, Judge must do what's best for the team.

That means not rushing back for the sake of rushing back. Now, if Judge can return and be even somewhat close to his usual self, by all means, come back. Again, even a compromised Judge is better than most players on the planet. Does anyone actually believe this is possible, though? According to his own manager, Judge's injury takes time to heal. Why would Boone oversell the severity of his superstar's injury?

Being a team captain means doing what's best for the team, not necessarily your career. With that in mind, what's best for the Yankees is for Judge to take time to heal from his injury, ensuring he doesn't come back looking like a shell of himself or risk a more serious ailment. If they're eliminated before he can return, oh well, it wasn't their year. If they're still alive by the time Judge is able to return (if that's a possibility at all), Judge can help the Yankees snap their long World Series drought. The worst thing he can do is play when he's incapable of playing, yet that's what he's trying to do. Hopefully, Boone and the Yankees can save him and themselves by convincing Judge to take it easy.

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