New York Yankees Give Aaron Judge a Seat

Aaron Judge has struggled of late, as the New York Yankees phenom has not been close to the player he was in the first half. Manager Joe Girardi is giving him a couple of days off in hope that the rest will reignite his bat.

During the first half of the baseball season, there was no greater story than the ascension of New York Yankees prospect Aaron Judge. After a mediocre debut in 2016, Judge emerged as a true star for the Yankees in the first half. Not only did he crush baseballs into the night sky, but he had an impressive showing in the Home Run Derby, winning the display with 47 homers. A new star had been born in the Bronx.

However, the second half of the season has not gone nearly as well. Judge was still making headlines, although it was for his strikeouts. He struck out in a record 37 consecutive games, a run that made human turnstiles Dave Kingman and Mark Reynolds bow to the master. That highlighted a second half where Judge had posted a .179/.341/.352 batting line, hitting only seven homers in 182 plate appearances. While he drew 35 walks, Judge also struck out 65 times in that span.

Unsurprisingly, those struggles earned the attention of Yankees manager Joe Girardi. In what may well be a belated move, the Yankees are moving Judge to the bench, giving him a few days to clear his head. Hopefully, this will let him get back to his production from earlier in the year, when he had been a home run hitting machine.

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While the Yankees are getting reinforcements with the returns of Aaron Hicks, Greg Bird, and Starlin Castro, they will need Judge to be back to form if they hope to truly contend this season. Add in the pending suspensions from their brawl against the Tigers, and the Yankees need the first half Judge perhaps more than ever.

This break, as belated as it may be, could be the answer. Pitchers have clearly adjusted to Judge, and while he continues to draw walks and has impressive power, his prodigious strikeout rate minimizes his effectiveness. It is now time for Judge to clear his head, and make those needed adjustments himself.

This time off may help determine the way Judge’s 2017 will be remembered. Will he revert back to being the MVP candidate he had been, and get back to sending the ball out of virtually any ballpark imaginable? Or will he continue his struggles, looking like a three month wunderkind, the modern day Kevin Maas?

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The New York Yankees are giving Aaron Judge a couple of games off. They have to hope that this proves to be the answer to the rookie’s second half struggles.