The Yankees are already feeling the heat in the AL East. Sitting at 67–57, they’re second behind the division-leading Blue Jays, with the Red Sox right on their heels, just with an extra win and loss. The Yankees recently snapped out of a rough stretch where they dropped three straight series by bouncing back strong and sweeping the Cardinals, but the issues haven’t gone away for manager Aaron Boone.

One major concern is that he still doesn’t have his cornerstone, Aaron Judge, fully back in his regular right-field role. Reportedly, since coming off the IL, Judge has been locked in as the Yankees’ DH for 12 straight games, including Tuesday’s series opener against the Rays. Boone recently went on WFAN and shared Judge’s outlook for the rest of the season. He said, “I don’t think we’ll see him throw as usual the rest of the season.”

But Judge’s latest comments suggest he’s not exactly on the same page with his manager. “I don’t know why he said that. He hasn’t seen me throw for the past two weeks. I’m pretty confident I’ll get back to that,” Aaron Judge showed his confidence, as quoted by TalkinYanks.

Well, there’s still no clear timeline for when Aaron Judge will return to right field.

However, he has been making progress with his throwing program. For instance, he stretched it out to 150 feet last weekend in St. Louis, but he’ll likely need to push it further with longer, harder throws before getting medically cleared to take the field. And on top of that, he’ll probably have to test it out by making throws to the bases.

So, while Boone was pretty confident about playing Judge as a DH for the remainder of this season, fans can still bet on seeing Judge back in his defensive role, post what the Captain said.

Boone still got his back from the old-timers

The Yankees have a record of 11-9 in their last 20 games. And that too after sweeping the Cardinals in their last 3 games. Under Boone, the Yankees also faced the record of getting swept by the Marlins just a few days ago. And now, after Aaron Judge publicly dismissed his stance, calls to fire Boone are set to rise. But he seems to be getting his back from the Yankees’ old-timers still.

“So it’s not his fault that some guys are not playing at their potential,” former Yankee Jorge Posada said about Boone.

Well, it is not that Boone couldn’t make the team perform despite having a full-strength squad. The Yankees have been hit hard by injuries this year. Notably, they lost their ace, Gerrit Cole, before the season even began. Luis Gil only just made his debut, and both Clarke Schmidt and Oswaldo Cabrera are done for the year.

On top of that, several key relievers are sidelined, and Aaron Judge himself missed time earlier in the season. So, Posada isn’t wrong when he points out that injuries have played a big role in the team’s struggles. However, if the Yankees end up missing the playoffs, Aaron Boone won’t be able to fall back on that excuse. It is almost certain that his job will be under even tighter scrutiny.