A-Rod’s Injury Could Open a Path For Aaron Judge

After a booming double in the fourth inning on Sunday, Alex Rodriguez was pulled from the 8-1 loss to Tampa Bay with an oblique injury that required an MRI exam.

The test results were negative and Rodriguez will travel with the club to Texas. However, according to Josh Thomson of LoHud, Joe Girardi is worried, “Any time someone leaves with an oblique, you’re not really optimistic because they take a while depending on the severity of it.”

The injury to A-Rod is just something else to add to the list of things the Yankees are concerned about. Besides the putrid offense and the shaky starting pitching, Aaron Hicks hurt his shoulder on Friday night, received a cortisone shot on Saturday and is currently day-to-day. With both set to be out for an undetermined amount of time, the Yankees are down to just a three-man bench. It’s very hard to imagine the Yankees playing down two position players with upcoming series against Texas and Boston.

Regardless of whomever might get placed on the DL, the Yankees have needed to bench Rodriguez. His play has been a major factor in the team’s inability to drive in runs. The 40-year-old is currently mired in a 4-for-21 skid, and is hitting an unsightly .145 with two home runs and six RBI. He is simply not seeing the ball, having struck out 11 times on this just-finished nine-game homestand. Occasionally he will run into a fastball, but by and large his bat speed appears diminished. Yes, it’s April, but given the depths of this slump and his age, it’s totally fair to question whether or not he will ever dig himself out. This isn’t to say his injury is a good thing, but it does open the door and provide an opportunity for someone else. That someone else ought to be Aaron Judge.

The 23-year-old star prospect might be just what the doctor ordered for the Bombers. Before a pair of oh-fers this weekend, Judge had been slashing .322/.344/.460. At 6-foot-7, 275 pounds, Judge possesses the kind of right-handed power Rodriguez and Hicks have failed to provide. The team is hitting just .225 with two home runs against lefties this year. Judge hit .304/.445/.536 against left-handers in Triple-A last season.

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A Judge call-up also gives the Yankees the chance to improve their defense by playing him in right field and shifting Carlos Beltran to DH. Beltran has been one of the few productive Yankee hitters this year, and having just turned 39 on Sunday, the team should jump at any chance to keep him fresh.

None of this is to say that Judge is the savior. The Yankees still have weaknesses that need to be addressed, but the injury to Rodriguez provides an opening for him. There are other complications as well, seeing as Judge is not on the 40-man roster. It’s easy to see Brian Cashman being reluctant to make that sort of roster move this early in the season. But it would give Cashman and Girardi a chance to see what Judge can do at the big league level. That alone may be worth it.

If Judge struggles, it’s not the end of the world for him. He can go back to Triple-A and continue to develop into what the Yankees hope is a star. But if he excels in the Bronx, not only do the Yankees know that he is for real, but they’ll also have a remedy for one of the things ailing this club.