SPANISH HARLEM – Aaron Judge is back and Yankees fans are excited. This was an offense that had trouble scoring runs once he went down and having him back should benefit everybody on the lineup. While there will be some rust and it was the right decision not to send to the minors for some rehab games.
While cautious, I should note that I would rather have him be the full-time DH than play him in right field. If the Yankees are going to do anything of value in the playoffs and to keep him fresh, Aaron Boone should limit his play in right field. I don’t trust or see the benefit in that. We know they won’t play him every day, which is probably the right thing and Boone has talked about him not playing full games yet, as we saw on Tuesday.
Let’s be clear here, the best version of this team is with him the outfield but why put him out there right away. This will affect Luis Garcia, Jr. and Ben Rice in the immediate, as they will at bats, but Judge is and should be the priority. Now the playoffs are a different story yet for now, they need to be careful with him because they won’t go far without him the lineup. DHing for most games is how you keep him safe and healthy. He is the most important player they have and limiting his opportunities in the outfield is something I hope they do.
That’s it for now, please come back tomorrow for more great revelations from Jackson Sternberg.
