In late July, Aaron Judge had to make a trip to the 10-day injured list after straining his right elbow flexor. The New York Yankees struggled during that span, although they've picked up the pace with Judge back as of late, their recent skid against the Boston Red Sox notwithstanding. However, since his return to action, Judge hasn't played the outfield, instead being deployed as the team's designated hitter, including in their 7-2 win over the Red Sox on Sunday.
It's not quite clear when Judge will be returning to his home position of right field. But one thing's for sure, the Yankees brass isn't about to risk Judge's health anytime soon. In fact, manager Aaron Boone recently made a worrying claim regarding Judge's ability to throw, and it's not a very good sign that they are trotting Giancarlo Stanton, someone who's been more of a DH in recent years, in the outfield.
And it appears as though not being able to play the field is becoming a source of frustration for the Yankees star, especially when he holds himself to such a high standard of baseball.
“It’s brutal. I’m a ballplayer. I want to play both sides of the ball. I want to be out there making plays on defense, helping my team out. I know hitting is important, but I feel like I can impact the team on both sides. I can’t wait to be back out there,” Judge said, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
Considering the Yankees' World Series ambitions, it is not likely for them to throw (pun intended) Judge back in his home position without being 100 percent certain that he's put his elbow issues in the rearview mirror. Nonetheless, while Judge knows of the bigger picture, that knowledge still won't take away the feeling that he's not doing everything in his power to help his team win.
Aaron Judge is the engine that drives the Yankees
The Yankees went 4-6 when Judge was out of the lineup, including a brutal stretch to start the month of August that had the entire team reeling and almost ready to sound the panic alarm. But since Judge's return, the Yankees have gone 10-7 — a better mark that has them 3.5 games safe within the Wild Card spots in the AL.
Since his return from the IL, Judge has put up a rather pedestrian slash line of .207/.378/.397. But even with his relatively lackluster production from the plate, the sheer threat of him being in the lineup has helped elevate the team already.
