1 Yankee who can define his legacy during Aaron Judge's absence, 1 who can begin his

Whenever there's a devastating injury this early in the year, the question for a contending team is always who can step up and keep the lights on until the wounded superstar returns to action. When the player in question is as important and dominant as Aaron Judge, it sometimes takes a group effort to fill the void. The New York Yankees star isn't coming back anytime soon, so it is vital that his supporting cast picks up the pieces.

Trials and tribulations like these can be legacy-defining moments. Remember, Judge is going back for more imaging in 4-6 weeks, meaning the timeframe for him to ramp up, go on a rehab assignment, and ultimately return to the lineup is significantly longer. Without someone attempting to fill his shoes, that time frame could be a death knell to the Yankees' playoff hopes.

In a twisted way, the Yankees have gotten a dry run on this. Judge supposedly hurt his ribs during the trip to Houston that began on April 24. It has clearly bothered him more as the weeks have gone on, and it is likely the driving force for his slump. The training wheels are off, though, and now it's time to truly perform without the perennial MVP candidate.

With that said, here are the two Yankees we're expecting to step up and either begin building their own legacy or cementing their story by authoring a fantastic final chapter.

This is Ben Rice's opportunity to cement himself as a Yankees cornerstone

Ben Rice emerged as a promising piece for New York's present and future last year in light of Giancarlo Stanton's dual tennis elbow injury. The young slugger made some critical adjustments after getting his first taste of big league action in 2024. The simplicity of his tweaks and the underlying data from 2025 suggested that he was in line for even bigger things in 2026.

In fact, Rice had already emerged as one of Judge's biggest threats for yet another MVP award. The 27-year-old has been that good. Now the Yankees will need him to maintain that performance without the help of the league's most dominant hitter.

If he can do that, it could be the start of the Yankees becoming Rice's team. There are some who believe that the emergence of Rice, along with Cam Schlittler, has created a situation where New York's championship window has been extended indefinitely as the duo takes the reins while Judge and Cole age out of foundational status.

For Rice, though, this could be the start of something even bigger. If he shows out, he could become the Tim Duncan to Judge's David Robinson, helping the veteran finally get a ring before taking over as the face of the franchise and bringing it into an even more prosperous era.

If that indeed ends up happening, we might be able to look back on this moment as the turning point.

Giancarlo Stanton may live on in Yankees lore if he carries team through this stretch

In a way, Stanton was the prototype for what Judge became. A towering, powerful behemoth with surprising athleticism in his early days, Stanton had all the strengths to his game that we've seen Judge maximize during his unthinkable run of greatness. He also had all of the weaknesses.

When Judge was coming up, the two big concerns were whether he'd strike out too much for his power to play, and whether or not his supersized body could withstand the rigors of a 162-game season.

Stanton's name has been synonymous with injuries as he's aged, but frankly it's always been like that for the fearsome slugger. During his Marlins tenure, he averaged just 123 games played per season, and that includes the 159 contests he logged during his MVP-winning 2017 campaign.

The Yankees acquired him on the heels of that campaign, with designs of pairing him with Judge, who should have won the AL version of the award in 2017, to create a two-headed monster that would set up the next dynasty. That never happened because of all of Stanton's ups and downs (in addition to both sluggers being injured separate and at the same time on many occasions).

Big G almost completely flipped the narrative with his 2024 postseason performance, but it became a mere footnote after the Yankees fell to the Dodgers.

This might be his last shot to immortalize himself as a Yankee. Carrying the team and channelling his former MVP self would go a long way towards giving fans the warm fuzzies when they look back on his career. For what it's worth, Stanton posted a 158 wRC+ when he took home the hardware. Last season, he also posted a 158 wRC+, so the ability is still in there as long as he can get and stay healthy.

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