Aaron Judge means everything to the New York Yankees, so anything they can do to make sure he’s having his maximum impact, they do.
That meant bringing Judge back to the lineup as soon as possible after his minimum 10-day stint on the injured list, following Judge’s flexor strain in his right elbow that had lingered for a few days in late July.
Judge was back in the lineup on Tuesday night against the Texas Rangers, but the Yankees’ only option was to make him the designated hitter as he continues to ramp up his throwing. That left Giancarlo Stanton, one of the team’s best non-Judge hitters, out of the lineup.
Stanton, who has served as a primary designated hitter for many years and last played in the outfield in 2023, will naturally see far fewer at-bats as long as Judge has to DH.
“That’s the tough part,” Boone said, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “G’s (Stanton) been in such a good place now, really most of the time he’s been back. I just feel like he’s putting together real consistent, G-like at-bats where he’s a real threat all the time.
“So that’ll be tough to navigate here these first few days, but hopefully it’s not something that’s long.”
The Yankees still don’t have a great idea of how long it’s going to take to get Judge back in the field, but he’s been diligently following his throwing program, and they hope to know more soon. They’ve also considered using Stanton in the outfield, but whether they’d be willing to do that with his own injury concerns, remains to be seen.
Stanton, who had homered 10 times in his last 24 games, pinch-hit in the ninth inning with the Yankees trailing 2-0 on Tuesday night, and hit a hard ground ball that turned into a rally-killing double play.
As the Yankees try to break their five-game losing streak and return themselves to the forefront of the playoff conversation, juggling Judge and Stanton is just one more obstacle.
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