For the 61st time, the New York Yankees are back in the postseason, but the bigger news for all Yankees fans was that Aaron Judge is back in the lineup. The problem is that even though Judge is back, his bat seems to be missing. However, the Yankees are confident he will find his rhythm.
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“He’s slowly getting his timing back… talking with Yankees officials in the last 24 hours, they’re confident that he’s going to be able to get his swing back and timing back by the start of the postseason… he’s such a threat that he impacts other parts of the lineup,” MLB insider Buster Olney said while speaking to SportsCenter.
Aaron Judge returned to the Yankees after 3 months away, but his bat has not followed him back yet. Through his first 5 games, he went 3-for-17 with 1 walk and 9 strikeouts. Then, against the Twins, Judge finally gave everyone watching something to celebrate.
The slow start was hardly surprising after Judge missed 84 games with his rib injury. He returned without playing a minor league rehab game, and suddenly, with the Yankees entering the final stretch, every at-bat carried more importance.
But Buster Olney believes Judge has enough time to find his rhythm before October arrives. Olney had previously expected Judge to receive 60-75 plate appearances before the postseason. Aaron Boone has also understood that Judge will need some time to look like himself again.
“I haven’t been the least bit concerned about anything,” Boone said before Monday’s game.
Boone believed Judge was choosing the right pitches and simply needed more game time. He also expected Judge to become sharper as the Yankees moved toward October.
That belief received its first real sign when Judge faced the Twins on Monday night. After going 1-for-4 with 2 strikeouts, he stepped up again in the eighth inning. Judge crushed A.J. Minter’s pitch 397 feet for a three-run homer to give New York control.
Afterward, Judge smiled at his earlier struggles and said, “At least I made contact that time.”
The homer also arrived with only 12 regular-season games remaining for New York. That has raised questions about whether Judge should have taken some minor-league at-bats. But we have seen Judge do this before, in 2023. After injuring his toe against the Dodgers, he had a long layoff, and when he returned, he hit 18 home runs with a .245 average and a .965 OPS.
Moving on, with October approaching, Judge has another chance to show that history can repeat itself.
Aaron Judge made the right call to skip minor league rehab
Since his return, Judge has reached base just four times and has also struck out 11 times.
But Judge had already made his thinking clear before stepping back into MLB games.
“Why waste at-bats? Why waste anything down in a minor league game?” Judge said.
He believed those chances would mean more against pitchers he would actually face with the Yankees, especially with the postseason approaching.
That decision meant Judge could immediately test himself against major-league pitchers after his long absence. During the Subway Series, he faced Nolan McLean, Zac Thornton, and Christian Scott. McLean was an NL Rookie of the Year finalist, while Thornton and Scott also showed promise. Those at-bats gave Judge stronger competition than he would have found in Triple-A games.
The results were not immediately what Yankees fans wanted to see from their captain.
Now, with the postseason nearing, Judge’s remaining MLB at-bats could become increasingly important.