New York Yankees are Making a Mistake With Aaron Judge

Let me first start by saying that I liked the plan the New York Yankees had for Aaron Judge when he first returned: play him six innings or so, and then pull him out of the game to preserve him.

What I do not like, however, is giving Judge full days off when he still needs to get his timing back before the playoffs.

That's exactly what Aaron Boone on Tuesday night, resting Judge against the Minnesota Twins a day after Judge clobbered his first home run since rejoining the team from the injured list earlier this month.

It marks the second time that Boone has sat Judge since he returned, and it's actually counterproductive to the goal.

It's clear that Judge isn't fully with it yet. Prior to smashing his three-run blast on Monday evening, Judge had gone 3-for-20 following his return to the lineup on Sept. 8, and that featured 11 strikeouts.

The home run certainly helped Judge clear his mind, but it didn't instantly solve his problems. And why wouldn't you allot Judge a few more plate appearances the very next night after he appeared to be ready to break out of his early doldrums?

I understand wanting to keep Judge healthy. I completely get the urge to avoid another injury situation. But he seems to be 100 percent healthy, or else he wouldn't be back. So why isn't he playing every day?

If the Yankees really wanted to give him a little bit of a rest, they could have slotted him in as the designated hitter on Tuesday rather than put him in right field.

Instead, they decided to bench him altogether.

The playoffs start in less than two weeks, and we now know New York will 100 percent be there. Make no mistake: the Yankees aren't going anywhere without a surging Judge, and he doesn't have much more time to get himself together.

New York will conclude its three-game series with the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night. It will then play three games at Arizona before heading to Tampa Bay for an imperative four-game set against the Rays, one that will ultimately decide the AL East.

The Yanks will then conclude their regular season with the Baltimore Orioles.

That's 11 more games for Judge to get himself right, and probably less than that considering Boone likely plans on resting him again.

Judge should be turned loose, but instead, the Yankees are taking it easy with him. I'm not so sure the latter is the answer. At least not on this scale.