There’s no way around it — the Yankees are a different team without outfielder Aaron Judge in the lineup. And when I say “different”, what I really mean is worse. A lot worse.
When he hurt his toe making a catch at Dodger Stadium back on June 3rd, the Yankees beat Los Angeles to improve to 35-25. They now enter Game 2 of their current matchup with the Angels while sporting a 50-45 record and occupying the AL East basement.
So, yea — the reigning AL MVP Award winner is a pretty crucial piece to New York’s puzzle. They’ve been treading water without him, but will the wait finally be over soon? Manager Aaron Boone did his weekly appearance with the guys at Jomboy Media and provided a little bit of hope. There’s still no official timeline, but his non-answer to the following date should mean something:
Aaron Boone doesn't have a return date for Aaron Judge yet but he said multiple times that "he's getting close."
We mentioned next Tuesday, July 25th against the Mets and he didn't rule it out
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 18, 2023
That would be the first of a two-game set to complete the yearly Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees. After playing two at Citi Field last month, these two will be in the Bronx. The last matchup between these two teams didn’t feature either Aaron Judge or Pete Alonso. So, it’d be a boost if both were back this time around.
Based on the Yankees’ performance, Judge’s eventual return is long overdue. As bad as it’s been for the Bombers, they’re still right in the thick of the postseason race. They’re also planning on buying at the trade deadline. And, it’s not like they still can’t make a deep run into October from here:
The 2017 Yankees were 49-45 through 94 games.
The 2023 Yankees are 50-44.
🤔🤔
— Yankees Files (@YankeesFiles) July 16, 2023
We have to hold onto every bit of silver lining we can find at this point, folks.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
