Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Yankees fans and fans across the country.
As we celebrate Labor Day Weekend, the final big milestone of the regular season, Yankees fans have focused on just one question: when will Aaron Judge return to the field? After all, the Yankees Captain has not taken the field since May 31st due to a stress fracture in his ribs, and his absence single-handedly turned the lineup from arguably the best in baseball into arguably the worst. Their 12.2 fWAR and 116 wRC+ through May 31st ranked first and second in baseball, respectively, while their 6.7 fWAR and 90 wRC+ rank 25th and 29th (yes, that’s right — the Yankees lineup put up almost twice as much fWAR in two months with Judge as they did in the three-plus months since!).
We had some major news about Judge’s return over the past two weeks. It was first reported that No. 99 could skip a rehab assignment and return straight to the Bronx; then, on Friday night in San Diego, James Smyth reported that Judge took live batting practice on the field for the first time since the injury.
With these updates in tow, we opted to poll the fanbase on whether or not they think it’s a good idea to let the Captain forego rehab games. And, while not exactly unanimous, the results were conclusive: Yankees fans want Judge back in the lineup ASAP.
From my vantage point, I understand both options. On the one hand, this offense has looked downright pitiable without arguably history’s greatest right-handed hitter, and it’s clear to me that his presence in the lineup has warped our perception of some of the team’s other hitters (as his presence drastically elevates the performance of literally everyone else in the lineup). At the same time, though, the Yankees are 8.5 games up in the Wild Card race and 4.0 games behind in the division. Would it be nice to go on a run and challenge the Rays for the top spot in the American League? Absolutely. Would having Judge in the lineup for as many games as possible help that cause? Certainly. Is the juice worth the squeeze? Well….uh…maybe, maybe not.
That said, even if he does skip a rehab assignment, it’s not like the Yankees will be throwing him into full action without any preparation. Even beyond the fact that he’ll be hitting in the batting cage, running down fly balls in the outfield, and generally just doing normal baseball activities in preparation, the organization will carefully monitor his activity, and it’s not unlikely that you’ll see the team give him plenty of rest and DH days until he’s fully ramped back up. It doesn’t matter how he looks on September 15th at the end of the day, but on September 28th — and, hopefully, long beyond.
This week’s SB Nation Reacts poll results are brought to you by FanDuel.
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