Aaron Judge missed most of the New York Yankees' season due to a rib fracture.
However, when he was cleared to resume playing, the team chose not to send him on a rehab assignment. They had him build up in big-league games, but he has struggled at the plate so far. Perhaps not sending Judge on a rehab assignment was a mistake.
In the Yankees' defense, Judge himself was against a rehab assignment. However, he has hit .176 since his return and does not have an extra-base hit yet. He has struck out in half of his plate appearances. His strikeout percentage before the injury was 27.5%. Obviously, his five-game sample size after missing over three months is not the best indicator of what lies ahead, but it does open the team to some scrutiny over their decision.
The Boston Red Sox were without Roman Anthony for months, but sent him on a rehab assignment and kept him there longer than some expected. He came in right away and started making a huge impact. Perhaps if the Yankees had allowed Judge to play in some Triple-A games, he too would have hit the ground running in the big leagues.
Anthony and Judge had different injuries and were in two completely different situations. However, the immediate success Anthony saw and the struggles Judge has had certainly create an interesting discussion.
Judge is a three-time MVP, and one of the best hitters the game has ever seen. There is very little doubt that he will figure things out. However, the team may have squandered an opportunity for him to get his timing back in Triple-A and come back ready to go for a huge Tampa Bay Rays series soon. Right now, he is searching for answers at the plate while the Yankees need to win every game possible so that they can win the division.