Yankees Creating Options to Replace Aaron Judge

With Aaron Judge on the Injured List for the time being, the New York Yankees are trying to devise a plan that prevents a slip from turning into a slide.

Yankees prospect Spencer Jones was an early favorite to be called up in Judge's absence, but Jones is dealing with back spasms in a stroke of bad timing and is unlikely to make the roster just yet. In the meantime, Giancarlo Stanton is being considered for the outfield, which he seems optimistic about, despite his own injury woes this season.

“I’ll be fine. When they put me out there, I’ll be fine,” Stanton said, per Peter Boyle of the New York Post. “I don’t know when it will be. This all has happened in the last 24 hours, but I do feel like I can do it.”

The Yankees added infielder Amed Rosario to the roster after trading for him over the weekend, and freshly minted third baseman Ryan McMahon was in the lineup right away in an effort to make up for Judge's absence. McMahon immediately contributed a two-run double in the final game in the Yankees' series with the Philadelphia Phillies, securing the team a cathartic win and proving his worth from jump.

“Honestly, just excited to do something to help the team,” McMahon said of the win, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “Wins are important right now, so that’s the end goal. Happy to be doing some solid stuff out there and ready for the next one.”

Judge is suffering from a right flexor strain that is expected to keep him on the IL for the full 10-day minimum, at least. At the end of that stretch, he will return as the Yankees' designated hitter initially while the team evaluates his recovery. The injury reportedly bothers him most when throwing, so the hope is that he will come back swinging in his usual form — arguably the best in the league.

Judge is obviously a load-bearing player for the Yankees' roster, and the team is already trying to fight their way out from second place in the American League East. They eked out this one win against the Phillies in the third game of the series, having lost the first two by a wide margin. This was on the heels of a similar 2-1 series loss in Toronto last week, during which the Yankees defense really showed fans what they're capable of: four errors in one game. The Yankees are five and a half games behind Toronto in the division, with a 57-48 record.

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