The New York Yankees left Aaron Judge off the American League Division Series roster as he recovers from a calf strain.
Judge is working hard to recover and contribute to the Yankees in October. However, he is just not quite ready yet. On Oct. 7, Judge will be three weeks removed from his injury, so it's possible that he will finally be ready to play. However, he will have to prove that without the benefit of rehab games.
When Judge returned from his rib injury, he did so without rehab games, hoping to find his swing and timing through big league action. He hit just .174 in his seven games back from injury before injuring his calf. Seemingly, if Judge is healthy, the Yankees will include him on the American League Championship Series roster if they advance, but should they?
Judge did not get his timing back before the calf injury, and now putting him in the game if his swing is not dialed in could result in the Yankees' season ending. Additionally, there is an argument to be made that if he's not 100%, the Yankees are actually doing themselves a disservice by playing him.
At the end of the day, he is one of the best hitters of this generation, and he could find his swing fairly quickly. However, if he is unable to play in the field, the Yankees could actually hurt their own lineup by locking him in at designated hitter. It could take away at-bats from Luis Garcia Jr., who has been one of the best hitters on the team since he was acquired.
There are two big questions the Yankees need to answer before activating Judge. For one, can he actually make an impact with the bat after missing so much time this year? Second, can he play in right field and allow the Yankees to keep their lineup flexibility? The hurdle will be trying to figure those things out without him playing in rehab games.