Yankees predicted to get Aaron Judge back soon, but with a catch

3 weeks ago 12

The New York Yankees are eagerly awaiting the return of Aaron Judge this season, as he's been out for a long time with a lengthy stint on the injured list due to a rib stress fracture.

Fortunately, Judge appears close to returning. It's September 2, and he could return within the next week if all goes well over the next few days.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller is predicting Judge will return soon, but with a catch. Judge's return won't be as impactful as Yankees fans might be hoping for.

Yankees predicted to get Aaron Judge back, but with a catch

"Aaron Judge returns next week, albeit with some rust," Miller predicts. "... Basically, if you're expecting Judge to come back and go yard in three of his first 10 plate appearances, his history suggests you're going to be disappointed -- even against the pitching staffs of the Rockies and Mets."

Judge being predicted to return isn't a huge surprise, but his return resulting in some disappointing production at the plate would be a little surprising. At least, without the context of his previous returns from injury.

Miller highlighted how a return from a wrist fracture in 2018 resulted in Judge posting a .675 OPS in the next 12 games he played. During the 2020 season, after a calf injury, he posted a .548 OPS to close out the season.

Most recently, back in 2023, after Judge came back from a toe injury, Miller highlighted how Judge had a .685 OPS in his first nine games after coming back, "before starting to turn things back around."

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Back in 2018 and in 2023, Judge was able to produce some high-quality offense after some time being back in the lineup. The only issue for the Yankees is that they really can't wait too long for Judge to figure things out.

They're in a tight AL East race with the Tampa Bay Rays, while also trying to fight off the Boston Red Sox from taking the lead in the AL Wild Card, which is the difference between a home-field series and not.

Miller's prediction would put the Yankees in a tough spot. Getting Judge back sooner rather than later would be huge, but sub-par production offensively wouldn't really be any help for New York amid their pursuit of better seeding in the postseason.

The Yankees would be much better off if Judge struggles in the first week or two once he returns and turns things around to end the year than not have him in the lineup at all.

So, if Judge's initial return is likely to be underwhelming before turning things back around after a few weeks, just as Miller predicts, the Yankees should have no qualms over activating Judge sooner rather than later.