PHOENIX — For more than three months, the New York Yankees built Aaron Judge’s return around one idea: get their captain back for October without asking his body to make up 99 lost days all at once.
That is why his first week back never looked normal. Judge returned without a minor league rehab assignment. The Yankees limited his innings, mixed in planned rest and treated major league games as the final stage of his buildup. He played only six innings in his Sept. 8 return and received planned rest Tuesday after playing six straight games.
The Yankees were willing to sacrifice September rhythm for October health. By this weekend in Arizona, that equation was supposed to change. Judge had worked through the controlled phase. New York was preparing to increase his workload and give him the steady at-bats missing during his long recovery in major league competition.
The urgency already showed in the results. Judge was 4-for-21 with 11 strikeouts through his first six games after activation. His three-run homer Monday in Minnesota was the first sign of impact, but it did not erase the swing-and-miss. The Yankees needed repetition more than another reset.
MLB standings have the Yankees at 88-64 entering Friday, five games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East with 10 games left. Four come against the Rays next week. The postseason berth is secure, but New York still has a division race and a possible Wild Card Series to prepare for.
That made this stretch less about proving Judge could return and more about making sure he could handle regular October work again. Every game was supposed to move him closer to full speed, rebuild timing against major league pitching and remove one more postseason uncertainty. That was supposed to be the final, uncomplicated phase of the Yankees’ October plan before the postseason begins in October.
The ramp-up plan gets interrupted
Instead, Judge arrives in Arizona with tightness in his lower right leg after leaving Wednesday’s 5-4, 13-inning loss to the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. He first felt the issue in the first inning and stayed in until Heliot Ramos pinch hit for him in the sixth.
It was his seventh game since returning from a right rib stress fracture after 99 days out. Two strikeouts moved his post-return line to 4-for-23 with 13 strikeouts and one home run.
Judge said he tried to continue before he and manager Aaron Boone decided the risk to the Yankees was greater than the value of staying in.
“Tried to play off and see how long I can go because these games are important down the stretch,” Judge said. “Talked it over and thought it would be the right move so we don’t cost the team on the field or in the basepaths.”
The Yankees had Thursday off for treatment. As of early Friday, MLB still listed right lower leg tightness without a return date.
David Cone points to bigger October problem
The immediate question is availability. The bigger one is preparation.
YES Network analyst David Cone focused on that Thursday. Judge has 24 plate appearances since returning, and 13 have ended in strikeouts.
“I’m concerned,” Cone said. “He needs the at-bats… Lower-leg issue, calf. We just don’t know. We don’t know till we know in terms of how severe it is. Is he going to get any more at-bats before the end of the regular season? It’s a real question mark right now.”
The skipped rehab assignment now matters more. Former All-Star catcher A.J. Pierzynski said a minor league stint could have provided a lower-stakes place for soreness after a long absence.
“This is why you go on a rehab assignment, especially when you missed as long as Aaron Judge did. He said it, this is like spring training, so you try to get the soreness and other little things that pop up out of the way by going on a rehab assignment,” Pierzynski said. “He didn’t do that, he didn’t want to do that.”
No one can know whether a rehab assignment would have prevented the leg tightness. The Yankees now risk losing more at-bats Judge still needs.
Platoon balance is not the problem
A current Yankees-Red Sox OPS split comparison highlights Judge, Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger as New York bats productive against either side. Baseball Savant has Judge at an .839 OPS against right-handers and .892 against left-handers. Bellinger is nearly identical at .794 and .795. Rice is at .937 against right-handers and .784 against left-handers.
Judge does not need a protected platoon role. The Yankees need him ready for regular at-bats against everyone.
Judge is batting .241/.360/.511 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs in 66 games. The issue is whether the Yankees can restore enough game speed before October.
The IL clock turns caution into a roster gamble
If the Yankees place Judge on the injured list now, he would be unavailable through Game 161, leaving at most the regular-season finale for another tuneup.
If the Yankees believe he can return sooner, they can keep him active and temporarily operate with one fewer usable player on the 28-man roster.
Jasson Domínguez and Max Schuemann were both in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s lineup Thursday, suggesting no immediate replacement was coming.
That leaves New York with the choice it tried to avoid during Judge’s first comeback: protect his body or protect his preparation. With 10 games left, the Yankees may not have enough calendar to fully do both.
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