Subscribe
Follow Us
The New York Yankees are hanging onto the final AL Wild Card spot by a thread. After losing a series to the Houston Astros, they are a half-game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians in the standings. They are 2-7 since the trade deadline, and are spiraling out of control. They need a great stretch run from many of their players, like ex-closer Devin Williams and shortstop Anthony Volpe. But the Yankees need Aaron Judge to return to his MVP form to make the playoffs.
Judge had a historic start to the season, and looked like he was on his way to a third career MVP. Even after missing ten days with a right flexor strain in his elbow and a cold stretch coming off the IL. He leads baseball in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. But his recent form is not going to be enough to drag the Yankees to the playoffs.
Judge has played five games since returning from the injured list, all as the designated hitter. He is 3-15 with one extra base hit and four walks, and the Yankees have won just two of those games. The team is not going to go anywhere without Judge dominating pitchers and lifting the team to victory. They proved that when they missed the playoffs in 2023 amid a Judge injury.
The best-case scenario coming off the Astros series appears to be a repeat of the 2021 Yankees' season. Judge had an .871 OPS in the final 30 games of the season, and Giancarlo Stanton had a .898 OPS in that same stretch. They dragged a poor Bombers team kicking and screaming into the one-game Wild Card. They were crushed by the Boston Red Sox in that game.
Aaron Judge is the most important Yankees player
The Yankees have spent a lot of money on a team that is talented on paper. They have not seen those results this season for many other reasons than just Judge. Devin Williams is the biggest culprit, as he has put together the worst season of his career amid massive expectations. Anthony Volpe gets a lot of attention as well, especially when he makes errors on the defensive side.
But no Yankees player is more important than Judge. Some of their disappointing seasons in the Aaron Boone era have come when Judge was hurt. 2023 and 2020 are the biggest examples of that. But when he is healthy, they have made the ALCS in 2017, 2019, and 2022. With a healthy Judge and Juan Soto, they made the World Series.
The Yankees need Judge to get blistering hot again to have any chance at making a deep run in the postseason. That must start in their next series against the Minnesota Twins, a team Judge has historically crushed. In 40 games against Minnesota in the regular season, he has 11 homers and a 1.199 OPS.
Once the Yankees are in the postseason, Judge struggles. His career playoff OPS is .768 in 58 games, anchored by a dismal 2022 ALCS and seven bad games in the 2020 postseason. But getting them to the playoffs is the goal this year, and that has become much harder in recent weeks.
On June 12, the Yankees finished off a sweep of the Royals to take a 4.5-game lead in the AL East. Since then, they are 20-31, the worst record in the American League. Judge is hitting .238 with a .911 OPS in that stretch with 12 homers. The relative ‘slump' for Judge has coincided with the worst baseball of the Yankees' season. They cannot expect him to be a 1.000 OPS player for all 162 games, but that is what this roster needs to make the playoffs. Can they make a run in August?
