More than three months after suffering a rib fracture, Aaron Judge finally returned to the New York Yankees lineup at seemingly the perfect time. The team was set to begin a final push in the regular season before embarking on what they hoped would be a long playoff run to the World Series. Judge returning when he did gave him ample time to get his timing back and be his MVP-caliber self in October.
Well, the worst-case scenario happened on Wednesday when Judge was pinch-hit for in the middle of the Yankees' loss in Minnesota due to a calf injury. By Friday, Judge was placed on the 10-day IL, ensuring he'd be out until the final day of the regular season at the very least. Now, the Yankees are in a brutal spot, as it's pretty tough to believe he'll be back by the time the postseason gets underway. As harsh as this sounds, they only have themselves to blame for Judge's injury crisis.
Listening to Aaron Judge was an unnecessary Yankees risk
The Yankees made an unpopular decision by having Judge return straight to the big-league team rather than embark on a traditional rehab assignment. At least part of the reason why the Yankees did not have Judge go on a rehab assignment is that Judge was emphatic that he did not need to "waste at-bats" in the minor leagues. He wanted to return right to the big-league club right in the thick of a pennant race, and understandably so.
The Yankees compromised with Judge, letting him return on the condition that he'd be load-managed. Yankees manager Aaron Boone pulled Judge on his return day after just three at-bats, a decision Judge was clearly unhappy with. As it turns out, the Yankees weren't strict enough.
Now, there's no way of knowing whether a rehab assignment or stricter load management would've prevented this injury. It's not like Judge re-aggravated the rib injury — this is a completely different ailment. Still, it's hard to ignore the fact that the Yankees rushed him back to the majors without giving him time to ramp up in the minors because that's what he, the team captain, demanded. That looks bad in hindsight.
Brian Cashman's roster made an Aaron Judge injury easier to predict
Having Judge return without a rehab assignment was questionable, but it'd have been less so had they given him a softer landing. The Yankees threw Judge right into his primary position of right field, and he started there in six of his seven appearances upon his return with only two days off. Judge DH'd only one out of seven games. This is something that would've been different in an ideal world, but Brian Cashman's roster made it tough for Boone to use Judge at DH.
Cashman traded for Luis Garcia Jr., a first baseman, at the trade deadline. This raised some eyebrows because the team's best hitter, not named Judge, Ben Rice, is also a first baseman. This move ensured that against every right-handed pitcher the Yankees would face, either Rice or Garcia would be at first base, with the other serving as the DH. Judge was the DH against a left-handed starter, but the Yankees only faced one lefty in a game Judge started in since his return.
Judge suffered a calf strain, and there's every reason to believe that going from a lengthy period of inactivity to running around in the outfield has something to do with that. Again, I can't say whether Judge would've gone by unscathed had the Yankees had the flexibility to use him at DH every day, but running around in the outfield didn't help his cause.
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