ST. PETERSBURG – It’s too early to say there’s a code-red emergency in the Yankees’ family, but let’s not ignore the obvious: there’s something going on with Aaron Judge that the club does not want. or can not reveal.
The tough right-back was out of the series again on Friday, while the rays killed Corey Kluber and Nick Nelson in a 10-5 result. Kluber’s speed (at 88-91 km / h, we mean a lack of) will have to be considered more closely. But the more immediate problem is the health of the Judge. His “common hurt” on the left is a growing mystery that even Aaron Boone struggles to explain.
On a mere question of whether judge was injured and not just resting, Boone paused for a few awkward seconds. The driver, realizing he was sitting in the corner, had no reaction.
“That’s a good question,” Boone finally said. “(But) I do not know how to answer that.”
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I actually felt bad for him; there is clearly more to this story than Boone may reveal. But instead of forcing his boss to take the heat, it is a judge who can (and should) explain what keeps him on track.
Is Judge Injured? Of course he is. No franchise player sits for three days in April unless he is injured, perhaps seriously. But what exactly is wrong? Boone will not say. Even crazier, the Yankees did not order an MRI. Why? Because it’s not yet recommended by the Yankees’ medical team. So says Boone, who insists the judge will be re-evaluated again before Saturday’s game.
Here is my theory. Actually, it’s just a guess (there’s your indemnity). But I’m starting to wonder if Judge himself is the reason why the MRI has not yet been administered. He has the right to refuse one, and may just prefer it not knows she is obliquely tense or slightly torn. Instead, Judge would most likely have to ask the Yankees to give it a few days, let the area heal on its own, and then try to play through the rest of the season.
This thesis may of course be 100% wrong, but the Yankees have been burned too many times to be so passive about Judge’s condition. Nor will I hold it against judge if he is the one responsible for the wall of secrecy. A bad slant can ruin a season, as judge himself knows. It cost him two months in 2019, part of a long, depressing trend of injuries. Judge has been in the IL five times since 2018. If he thinks that a few days will somehow fend off a sixth sideline, he deserves the right to try.
The good news is that Judge followed up with the batting practice on Friday, so the pain may not be as sharp. Then the Yankees needed him again Friday in the lineup against the Rays. If the Bombers ever had to make a statement, it’s against that team, on the day they raised their American league pennant. But Boone had to go to war without one of his most feared power threats, but had to play what he calls ‘the long game’ with the judge’s availability in 2021.
In other words, stop him from falling over the cliff one more time. The most disturbing thing for the Yankees is that Judge is no longer a young player; he’s in a few weeks 29. Injuries are part of the game, but they become much more common once a player reaches his 30s. If his judge cannot be relied on, what will his career look like in 3-4 years’ time?
No wonder the Yankees will not even think of a long-term deal with Judge yet. He looks at almost every box – strength, athletics, excellent defense, good clubhouse character, popular with the fans – except the most important one, durability. Somehow, iconic players manage to stay on the field. That unquantifiable asset is what distinguishes talented stars from generational icons. Derek Jeter is blessed with good karma. So far, judge has not.
His absence Friday was part of an otherwise miserable day at Tropicana Field. The Rays, who are not supposed to be a threat in 2021, stopped in 2020 where they left off and dominated the Yankees on both sides of the ball. The thing is, Kluber is part of the blueprint to catch up with Tampa Bay this summer. He is the new Masahiro Tanaka, and the showdown with 41-year-old Rich Hill was supposed to re-establish the story in a solid way.
Problem is that Kluber does not throw harder than 88-91 mph. This is a big problem. In all the moves that his stands generate and master the pass zone, Kluber’s lack of speed makes it difficult to get through the series more than once. And it’s not like the two-time Cy Young Award winner has something else in the toolkit. It is he at 35 when he sustained two serious arm injuries. Kluber will work with no margin of error for the rest of the summer.
Yet he is healthy and smart enough to come up with a plan B of some kind. Despite being knocked out in the third innings, Kluber earned praise from Boone, who said: “I actually liked the way the ball came out of his hand.”
Okay, that was a bit, but the driver got a little slack. He is front in the absence of the judge, forced to stutter whether the big man was injured or not. We all know something is wrong with Judge. The only question is, how bad is it really?
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Bob Klapisch is a freelance columnist covering the Yankees and Major League Baseball for NJ Advance Media.