Once again, injuries have gotten in the New York Yankees’ way at a crucial time.
Star OF Aaron Judge will miss the next 4-6 weeks with a broken ribcage, leaving a huge offensive void in Aaron Boone’s lineup.
The Yankees are still waiting for Giancarlo Stanton to return from an injury of his own, and as solid as their rotation is, there’s only so much it can do if the Yankees can’t score runs.
With that in mind, Yankees legend Derek Jeter used the rest of the team to step up and pick up the slack. Talking on Fox, he argued there was no true way to replace Judge.
The Yankees won’t be able to replace Aaron Judge
“Let’s just be honest, Aaron Judge is as irreplaceable as any player in the league. Maybe in baseball,” Jeter said. “You’re not just gonna have one individual pick up the slack. They’re gonna need contributions from a lot of guys that have underperformed.”
While Judge has been a mostly durable player, this isn’t the first time an unfortunate injury has cost him a crucial stretch of the campaign.
Per Baseball Reference, the 34-year-old star is hitting .248 with 53 hits, 17 home runs, 38 RBI’s, 43 runs and five stolen bases in 59 appearances in his 11th year in the league.
The Yankees are one game behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East lead, and while there’s still plenty of baseball to be played this season, losing ground midway through the campaign could be a catastrophe.
Stanton should be back in the lineup at some point in June, but in the meantime, it’ll have to be a collective effort for the Bronx Bombers.
