The New York Yankees received bad news on the Aaron Judge injury that has kept him out of the lineup for the past three games. Judge, the three-time American League MVP, will miss significant time after being diagnosed with a stress fracture of one of his ribs.
The news comes at a critical point of the season for New York, as they are in a battle for first place in the AL East. For most contending teams in the MLB, losing their best player for a prolonged stretch ruins a chance for a championship. While they cannot replace what Judge brings, the Yankees are well-equipped to stay in the playoff picture until he returns.
Lineup Has Enough Talent To Keep Scoring
Without Judge, the offense will need to be carried by Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger, who are off to strong starts. The duo gets on base at a high rate, with Rice among the league leaders in home runs and RBIs. Veteran Paul Goldschmidt has crushed lefties, and Amed Rosario has hit well off the bench.
Other players like Jazz Chisholm Jr and Trent Grisham have gotten off to slow starts but are trending upwards in production. The Yankees getting more consistency from them makes the lineup more dangerous. It also allows Manager Aaron Boone to leverage platoons, creating favorable matchups to boost the bottom of the order. This is an experienced group of position players who have strong track records, so expect them to be able to figure out how to score enough runs to win.
