The New York Yankees may want to entertain giving their superstar center fielder Aaron Judge some rest time as the 2024 MLB season dies down.
Do the Yankees have wiggle room in the standings to rest CF Aaron Judge?
The Yankees (89-64) are the No. 1 seed in the entire American League as things stand. If the 2024 MLB playoffs started today, New York would have a bye in the first round. Further, the Yankees are fending off the No. 2-seeded Cleveland Guardians (89-65) who are a half-game back from the league lead, and only have the Baltimore Orioles (85-68) on their proverbial hip.
Outside of the Orioles, who have three games to make up to catch the Bronx Bombers, the No. 4-seeded Houston Astros (83-70) and No. 5-seeded Kansas City Royals (82-71) would both need hot streaks to cover the six and seven games they trail the Yankees by respectively.
- Yankees could target $27.5 million Chicago lefty as potential first base solution
- Yankees’ captain earns second career AL MVP award
- Yankees’ Hal Steinbrenner may have just changed the Juan Soto sweepstakes
Will a few games of rest hurt Judge’s MVP chances?
Thus, it’s safe to say that the Yankees have some wiggle room to explore resting the Fresno State product for a portion of their final nine games. Judge has been the driving force behind the Yankees’ success this season and is still looked at as the favorite to take home the 2024 AL MVP award.
Albeit, Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. has been on his heels without rest, and if he finishes the year on a tear while the Yanks find another option to cover center field and the third slot in the batting order in spurts for Judge, there could be a tipping of the scales in the award race as nothing is set in stone.
As for how New York would fare without the 32-year-old in the lineup, they’ve gone 1-1 in the two games he has not played in this year. Though a small sample size, it does give some level of indication that they may be able to survive without him.
Most importantly, the cushion they have over the Orioles in the standings is enough for Yankees manager Aaron Boone to, at the least, give Judge a breather in the outfield, even if in spurts, to ensure his legs are fresh come postseason time.
