Cryptic YES Network video only adds to Yankees' Aaron Judge return buzz

Late Sunday night, the New York Yankees demoted Elmer Rodriguez from the active roster after he wasn't used during their three-game series loss in San Diego. That meant a new face would more than likely be joining them on Tuesday at the stadium to face off against the Colorado Rockies, extending Jasson Domínguez's big-league stay.

Would it be another arm? Was Clarke Schmidt, perhaps, ready ahead of schedule? Not ... according to Aaron Boone, who noted on Sunday that Schmidt would need a few more appearances before consideration.

So ... what are we doing here? The team has been tight-lipped about Judge for months now, but every indication has been that he'd need to face live pitching at least one more time, and would be doing so upon his return to the Bronx. A Tuesday activation was never out of the question, but what would've allowed the Yankees to have made that choice on Sunday night before Judge could pass any additional checkpoints?

That's ... still unknown, but the YES Network did nothing but fuel Judge's return rumors with a not-so-subtle video they posted on Monday afternoon.

Aaron Judge seems poised to return to Yankees Tuesday vs. Rockies, if the (team-fueled) rumors are true

All the "99" street signs ... literal Judge's emergence for some intense B-Roll ... if the team is merely putting this out hinting that he's going to return someday and not tomorrow, this would be pretty cruel. It's an odd order of operations for an announcement, but hey, the Yankees have been getting theatrical plenty this year. Remember when they unveiled that Max Fried planned to show up in the middle of a doubleheader against the Pirates without warning? This is what they do these days.

The Yankees need to be careful with Judge down the stretch, who has no intention of using a rehab assignment and wasting bullets before his big-league return. The Yankees are in the catbird seat in the AL Wild Card race, and retain a longshot chance of catching the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East title (or, at least, keeping things interesting before the Rays arrive in the Bronx for a four-game set in two weeks). The Rays face the Braves (road) and Astros (home) this week, while the Yankees draw the Rockies and Mets at the stadium. The time is now, and Judge knows it. YES Network does, too. This feels inevitable. We're just waiting for the word "go".

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