Yankees: Who should be the DH during Aaron Judge’s absence?

The Yankees received terrible news following Thursday night’s win over the Royals that Aaron Judge will be out for at least the next three weeks with a fractured wrist.

Nobody on the current roster can replicate what Aaron Judge brings to the Yankees lineup, but in his absence, the front office will likely look internally to replace him instead of making a trade. Their outfield will be fine with Giancarlo Stanton filling in for Judge in right, but who will take over as the primary designated hitter?

Today the Yankees placed Judge on the 10-day DL and already called up Tyler Wade to fill his roster spot. Wade probably won’t see many reps at DH because he still struggles offensively but he could play some right field if Stanton starts at DH. He could also rotate all over the infield and allow Aaron Boone to give DH days to Didi Gregorius, Miguel Andujar, and Gleyber Torres.

Wade’s versatility earned him another call-up but in the coming days, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Tyler Austin return to the big league roster as well. Austin has been buried at Triple-A ever since Greg Bird returned from the DL, but with a huge series against the Red Sox a week away the Yanks could use his bat against Boston’s lefty starters.

With Gary Sanchez out as well for up to a month, the Yankees will need some more right-handed pop in their lineup and Austin is certainly deserving of a call-up. Had Brandon Drury or Billy McKinney not been included in Thursday’s trade for J.A Happ they would have both been options to get more at-bats.

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The same goes for Clint Frazier if he wasn’t on the DL at Triple-A. Hopefully, Frazier can get back from his concussion issues before Judge returns because he would be the best internal option to replace him in the everyday lineup. Whether that be in the outfield or at DH.

For the time being Neil Walker will likely get most of the reps at DH especially against right-handed pitching. Walker has swung the bat well to start the second half and in July he’s hit .311 with 9 RBI. He should continue to produce as long as he’s getting consistent at-bats, but the Yankees should find someone to platoon him with at DH against left-handed pitching (Tyler Austin).

Ronald Torreyes could be another option soon now that he’s returned from personal issues and has been assigned to the A-Advanced Tampa Tarpons. Like Wade, he could also fill in throughout the infield when Boone wants to DH one of the regulars, especially against a lefty starter.

The loss of Judge is huge no matter how you look at it but the good news is that the Yankees have the easiest schedule by opponent winning percentage (.415) through August, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.

Even without Judge (and Sanchez), they have enough offensive firepower to still win at a high rate during his absence and remain in striking distance to Boston atop the AL East. Especially with the pitching staff they now have after the acquisitions of Zach Britton and Happ.