Aaron Judge’s return to the Yankees came with a little friction, a little rust and a whole lot of attention.
Back in Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night for the first time since May 31, Judge played only six innings in New York’s 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies, then made it clear he was not thrilled about being pulled early. The conversation between Judge and Aaron Boone on the dugout steps before he left had a calm tone, but the message landed hard enough to leave Judge with a sour feeling by the end of the night.
“I respect (Boone),” Judge said. “So, whatever he says, I’m going to do. But I’m not happy about it.”
Judge, who has been sidelined with a fractured rib, said he hoped to be back in the lineup Wednesday, though he stopped short of saying it would happen. His only comment on the shorter outing was blunt: “Hopefully, I get more than six innings,” he said.
Boone later confirmed the two didn’t exactly see eye to eye on the move.
“He was not real pleased with me for taking him out,” the manager said after the game.
The Yankees had warned Judge ahead of time that this was a possibility. Boone said before the game that he would be careful with the 34-year-old star and likely keep him out of one game in the three-game series against Colorado. Still, Judge expected more, especially with Cam Schlittler on the mound and the game moving quickly.
“We’ve got Cam on the mound,” Judge said he told Boone. “So I’m probably not going to get a lot of action anyway. So, what’s the difference between me standing out there for nine innings or standing out there for six?”
Judge’s night was quiet on the field. Hitting third, he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and didn’t record a defensive play in right field before his exit. He was later replaced by Heliot Ramos, who delivered the big swing of the night with a three-run homer in the eighth inning to stretch the Yankees’ lead to 5-1.
That blast helped back up Schlittler, who struck out 10 over seven innings and gave up just one run.
Judge’s road back was anything but ordinary. He didn’t play any rehab games before returning, taking live batting practice only once, on Monday’s off day against two Yankees minor leaguers at Yankee Stadium. He also saw pitches from Max Fried at Angel Stadium last week and faced a high-velocity pitching machine.
Boone said Judge had been asymptomatic for several weeks after fracturing his rib trying to make a diving catch in late April and then playing through the pain. The return came earlier than expected after Trent Grisham suffered a strained right hamstring Friday in San Diego, opening the door for Judge to come off the injured list.
Even with the early exit, Boone liked what he saw at the plate.
When Judge stepped in for his first at-bat, the crowd greeted him with “MVP” chants. He got ahead 2-0, then fouled off two sliders in the zone before missing a 93 mph fastball for strike three.
In his next trip, he sent a fly ball nearly to the warning track in right-center before it was caught. He finished with a called third strike in his final at-bat.
“I thought he looked like (Judge),” Boone said. “Obviously, there will be some time getting time and rhythm and everything, but I thought he was on pitches tonight for the most part. … Overall, a good night for him.”
Judge didn’t try to argue the baseball side of it.
“I get paid to do this,” he said. “So, I’ve got to go do it.”
And as for how he’d feel on Wednesday after playing just half a game?
“I feel great,” he said. “I played half a game. So, I don’t know what to say about that.”
The Yankees, now 82-62, stayed four games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East and widened their cushion over the Boston Red Sox to three games, with the tiebreaker in hand. Boone said Judge would “probably” sit out one game in the Rockies series, and Friday’s opener against the Mets looms next on the schedule.
In Other News...
Yankees May Have Quietly Found Their Next Outfield Prospect To Watch
Yostin Pea has put himself on the radar as one of the more interesting outfield names in the Yankees system, thanks to a strong run between the Dominican Summer League and Single-A. The early returns have shown the kind of mix clubs love to see in a young outfielder: power, speed, and a bat that has already produced at a healthy clip.
Baseball Americas Josh Norris recently singled Pea out as a player who could rise to the top of the Yankees prospect conversation next year, with Dax Kilby also in the mix. Peas path is worth watching for another reason, too, since he was once tied to a possible deal with the Cardinals before ending up in pinstripes, a turn that is starting to look increasingly important for New Yorks pipeline. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Bring Back Powerful 2001 Memories For Mets Game On 9/11 Anniversary
The Yankees and Mets will share a stage on Thursday night that carries far more weight than a typical subway series matchup. On the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Yankee Stadium will host a pregame ceremony honoring first responders and related organizations, while select alumni from the 2001 Yankees are set to take part in an evening designed to connect the present-day club with one of the most emotional periods in New York sports history.
Current Yankees players will also place a wreath at the September 11 monument in Monument Park, a quiet gesture with a powerful reminder behind it. The game arrives with memories still tied to the 2001 World Series, when baseball helped give the city a sense of rhythm in the weeks after the attacks, and to President George W. Bush's ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium, one of the enduring images from that stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Face A Risky Infield Call As Luis Garcia Jr. Keeps Rolling
With Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the injured list, the Yankees are choosing to keep Luis Garcia Jr. right where he has been thriving rather than ask him to shift from first base back to second. It is a small alignment decision on paper, but one that says plenty about how the club views Garcia right now after his productive start since arriving at the trade deadline.
Instead of moving him around the diamond, New York is covering second with Jose Caballero and Anthony Volpe, a setup that keeps Garcias bat in the spot the Yankees want most. It also leaves the club balancing short-term defensive flexibility against the risk of disrupting one of its steadier offensive additions at a time when every run still matters. [Read more 🡒]