For the first time since May 31, two-time reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge will be in the lineup for the New York Yankees on Tuesday as they host the Colorado Rockies. The Yankees have activated Judge from the injured list on Monday night, and he will look to help them win the AL East and then go on a run in the postseason. New York has 19 games remaining in the regular season.
"I wanted to be back June 1, but that didn't happen," Judge said this past weekend (via MLB.com). We'll be back out there and continue to play smart, especially in the rest of this year and then going into the postseason." Judge, 35, suffered the injury on a diving catch in late April, but played through it for more than a month. He played 59 games before going on the injured list and hit .248/.375/.533 with 17 home runs, including .171/.271/.293 in his final 11 games on the active roster.
Despite being out since May 31, Judge is still top-30 among all outfielders with 2.2 WAR. The Yankees have averaged only 4.06 runs per game since Judge last played, the fifth fewest in baseball. They've gone 45-39 during that time thanks to their pitching, which has been among the very best in baseball this year.
The offense just hasn't been the same without Judge, understandably. The Yankees need his thunder and his presence. "We've had long stretches where the offense has struggled," manager Aaron Boone said over the weekend (via MLB.com).
"I think a big part of that is not having your guy. I also feel like that's ticked up here in the last couple of weeks, where we've really started to play better offensively. We certainly look forward to getting our guy back." Here are three questions for the Yankees and Judge now that he'll rejoin the club on Tuesday.
Judge successfully lobbied the Yankees to skip a minor-league rehab assignment. He has hit against the high-velocity machine in the batting cage the last week or so, took batting practice with the team this past weekend and faced live pitching Monday at Yankee Stadium. Useful tools, all of that, but Judge is jumping right back into MLB games without a minor league stint.
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