Aaron Judge backup plan hints at another Yankees injury white lie

According to every trade deadline rumor going down to the wire, from "soft buy" to "desperate for relievers," the Yankees seem intent on building a team that can mix and match in a way that makes sense from Aug. 1 forward. Unfortunately, those intentions can't prevent the rest of July from feeling like an interminable slog; with or without the injured Aaron Judge, this team can't seem to match its run prevention with its run scoring. Nothing ever lines up, and their almost-league-worst record since mid-June has been well earned.

Despite widespread season-ending surgery fears, the Yankees instead changed the narrative on Saturday by announcing that Judge was suffering from a flexor strain, and might even return to DH duties in the minimum 10 days. As injury expert Will Carroll noted on Foul Territory on Monday, Judge's injury is likely more severe than that, though; while some of Carroll's explanation sounded like hyperbole, it's hard to argue against the Yankees taking the recovery a bit slower.

As if their true intentions weren't already obvious, they made it clearer by continuing to stalk more platoon bats when the new week began, despite having already acquired Amed Rosario. Their current wish list includes utility man Willi Castro of the Twins, old friend Harrison Bader (also on Minnesota's roster), and Austin Slater, a lefty-mashing outfielder currently with the White Sox.

That's all well and good. Insurance is valuable. Creating platoon matchups is wise. But there's something about the Yankees' roster math that makes it clear they're preparing for a longer Judge absence than they're letting on — either that, or they intend to cause chaos.

Yankees' Austin Slater and Harrison Bader interest tells you all you need to know about Aaron Judge's injury timeline

If the Yankees were to acquire Slater, Bader, or a third rhyming guy, they could DFA Oswald Peraza immediately to open up both a 40-man and an active roster spot. It was surprising Peraza survived the Rosario acquisition, but the timing of Judge's injury gave the Yankees that luxury.

When Judge returns, though, the Yankees will need to orchestrate another significant shakeup, and there's nobody else vulnerable on the bench (besides Rosario, who was just acquired). The Yankees could play one reliever down, but their pitching staff is already thin. If Judge comes back in 6-8 days, they would have to either sacrifice a pitcher, delete Rosario, or "hope" a different offensive player needed an IL stint. There's also a chance they could use a player like Trent Grisham (realistic) or Jasson Dominguez (a stretch) in another trade for pitching, clearing the requisite space.

The Yankees' pursuit of an extra position player seems to indicate Judge won't be back quite so soon. Either that, or they're about to make Rosario or Grisham's life very uncomfortable.