he New York Yankees’ showdown with the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend is their biggest series of the year thus far, which made Friday’s big announcement fitting.
Superstar outfielder Aaron Judge had been limited to “superstar designated hitter Aaron Judge” for the last four weeks. After hitting the injured list a few days after the Yankees’ last series with the Blue Jays in late July, Judge served as New York’s DH in each of his first 27 games back.
On Friday, however, Judge was back where he belongs. The Yankees announced their starting lineup for Game 1 against Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman, and the captain was batting third and playing right field.
Judge has been dealing with a flexor strain in his right elbow, which is certainly no small concern moving forward. The flexor muscles protect the elbow joint and the ligaments underneath them, namely the UCL, which usually requires Tommy John surgery to fix if torn.
After he first began throwing to bases from the outfield on Aug. 24 (per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com), it took Judge an additional 12 days to get to a point where the Yankees were satisfied with his progress.
In his 27 games as the Yankees’ DH, Judge has been very good offensively, but not his usual self. He batted .242 with a .415 on-base percentage and .474 slugging percentage, including six home runs.
Now that Judge is able to play the outfield, the Yankees can unleash Giancarlo Stanton as their full-time DH, rather than having to worry about resting him after a couple of days roaming the outfield. Judge in right, Cody Bellinger in left, and Trent Grisham in center is also the Yankees’ best defensive alignment by far.
