Competing with the Tampa Bay Rays for top spot in the AL East, the New York Yankees are currently without the services of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, two of the finest hitters in the major leagues and arguably the team’s most influential players.
In Judge and Stanton’s absence, legendary Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Pedro Martinez thinks two-time All-Star Cody Bellinger, who signed a five-year, $162.5 million contract with the Yankees over the winter, is the man to shoulder the responsibility of guiding his team to victory.
“I trust Bellinger. As long as the table-setters keep getting on base and the defense stays clean, I think the Yankees will be okay without Judge and Giancarlo for a while,” Martinez posted to X on Tuesday.
•
Judge is dealing with a stress fracture in his right first rib, which he played through for six weeks before it was caught by scans. He is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Stanton, on the other hand, who is on the IL with a low-grade left calf strain, is much closer to making his return. He has already started the final stages of his recovery including live batting practice and baserunning drills.
Aaron Judge’s repeated run-ins with injury could prompt the Yankees to make a difficult decision regaring Giancarlo Stanton’s future
Aged 34, Aaron Judge is not getting any younger, and his latest injury scare only makes clear what the Yankees might already have had in mind. The three-time AL MVP award winner’s role might need a rethink.
That could ultimately lead to the organization having to make a difficult call regarding the future of Giancarlo Stanton.
In a video clip posted to X by ESPN New York on Friday, YES Network’s Michael Kay offered his opinion on the situation.
“They cannot afford to lose his bat,” Kay said. “And I know that there’s one more year in Giancarlo Stanton’s contract.
“But I gotta tell you, the best path for them moving forward is that Aaron Judge is a full-time DH. There’s too much chance of him getting hurt in the outfield.”
Even without Stanton and Judge, the Yankees have still managed to rack up some wins. Beating arch-rivals the Boston Red Sox at home before sweeping the Cleveland Guardians on the road means that they have now won their last four games on the bounce.
Edited by Raghav Mehta