Aaron Judge’s return to the New York Yankees lineup came after plenty of anticipation, but his first game back showed that his comeback might not be entirely on his terms. After missing 84 games with a rib injury, the captain returned to right field against the Colorado Rockies, but his night ended earlier than he would have liked. While the decision reflected the Yankees’ desire to manage his workload, the star wasn’t pleased with it.

“I respect Booney, so whatever he says I’m going to do, but I’m not happy about it,” Judge told the reporter after the game, as per SNY Yankees on X. “But that’s where my guy Ramos picked me up, and I had a nice little three-run homer there to kind of put the game out so we could be comfortable going into the last inning. But, yeah, not too happy about it.”

Judge was back in his usual position in the outfield Tuesday for the series opener at home, but his bat couldn’t find its rhythm as the fans had hoped. The 34-year-old went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Yankees were leading 2-1 after the sixth inning when manager Aaron Boone decided to replace him with Heliot Ramos. The captain had a conversation with Boone, and it appeared that he wasn’t too willing to give up his spot after waiting more than three months to return to the lineup. However, he eventually agreed.

Ramos hit a home run in the eighth inning with Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger on the bases, and the Yankees made it 5-1, leaving little to worry about in the final inning. The Rockies did spark a comeback in the ninth, but they could only reduce the gap by 2 runs as the hosts won 5-3. 

The reporters asked Boone after the game how Aaron Judge would take his decision, and the manager said:

“But I’m confident he’ll be good to go. He was not really pleased with me for taking him out.”

While the discontent is understandable, there is an underlying factor that is far more important. Judge took part in a baseball game after 99 days. There was a time when he wasn’t even able to perform baseball-related exercises. At that point, his routine was limited to lower-body and neck exercises.

The recovery took more time than anybody expected. He had to wait two months just to be cleared for outdoor running. But once he checked that box, there was no stopping him. Judge quickly resumed weight training and began hitting in the bullpen. He even faced live pitching on September 7 to check the final box before his return.

But he never went through a rehab assignment. That means the team has no idea how much workload he can manage, and there have been some doubts about the 3x AL MVP being at 100%. 

Insider Jayson Stark even warned that the Yankees “have to be extremely careful, patient” with the injury, but he feared that the team might be putting too much pressure on him. In fact, many were worried that any further setback might ruin their chances in October. 

Aaron Judge himself has always been confident, and he said, “If I tell them I’m ready to go play, I think we’re ready to go play.”

Additionally, he was pretty confident about skipping a rehab assignment. That turned out to be the case, as the Yankees reinstated him to the active roster, and when the reporter asked him about his physical condition after the Rockies game, he said:

“I feel great, I played half a game, so I don’t know what to say about that.”

But Judge going hitless or the manager pulling him early shouldn’t be much of a concern. New York currently holds the first wild card spot in the American League. With 18 games remaining, the Yankees can even overtake the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East lead. If anything, the rest of the regular season should serve as a runway for the returning star before the Yankees unleash him in October.