Yankees Activate Aaron Judge
The Yankees announced Friday that they’ve reinstated reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge from the 10-day injured list. Infielder Oswald Peraza was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
A toe injury has kept Judge out of the lineup since June 3, and details surrounding his potential return have been somewhat vague. Manager Aaron Boone said earlier this week that it’s possible Judge could return for the Yankees’ weekend series against the division-leading Orioles, and it appears he’ll be active for all three of those critical games.
Judge, 31, has once again been outstanding in 2023, hitting .291/.404/.674 with 19 home runs in just 213 plate appearances. He’s been sorely missed in a Yankees lineup that is devoid of other notable offensive threats; since Judge landed on the injured list, the Yankees have batted just .220/.296/.374 as a team. Their 163 runs scored in that time rank 29th in the Majors, leading only the Royals. They went 19-23 with Judge on the injured list.
At least initially, Judge will split his time between right field and designated hitter, tweets Greg Joyce of the New York Post. The Yankees will understandably ease him back into the outfield alongside Harrison Bader and whichever of Jake Bauers, Billy McKinney or Greg Allen is in left field on a given day. Willie Calhoun was designated for assignment earlier this morning. Stanton has already been playing a fair bit of right field but could see an uptick in outfield reps, given Judge’s occasional rest days at designated hitter.
The Yankees currently sit two and a half games out of a Wild Card spot, and much has been made about their status leading up to Tuesday’s trade deadline. Judge’s return will push them closer to full strength as the front office makes its final decisions on how to proceed with the roster. The Post’s Jon Heyman reported this week that the Yankees would target an outfielder and reliever if they didn’t slip too far in the standings, but they’ll face a tough task against Baltimore this weekend.
Source: MLB Trade Rumors
