During a typical season, Aaron Judge wouldn’t have been sitting on the bench last Friday. He certainly would not have missed last Sunday’s decisive game against the Orioles. Not now, when every game matters so much.

The American League’s current Most Valuable Player would normally be in the lineup every day. There’s little doubt that the 2023 season has been anything from routine for the power hitter.

Due to a ruptured ligament in his right big toe, he was out for over two months, but he opted to forego rehabilitation games in order to return to the struggling Yankees as soon as possible.

It’s possible he won’t be fully well until next season.

Not including his nаme in the lineup is something I’m not fond of doing. And I’m extremely thrilled about his at-bats,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before Friday night’s game against the Astros in The Bronx. I am aware that he is not, in fact, completely there physically. Even entering into this 13-game stretch with the knowledge that there are going to be a couple [of games he can’t participate in], I know I’ve got to do it.

To paraphrase, “pleased with how it’s going, but also make sure I do right by him, that we get him built up so hopefully we have him for the bulk of the entire two months.”

Without Judge, the Yankees struggled to a 19-23 record.

Since his return, the team has gone 4-3 (with one of those defeats coming in the game he missed against the Orioles) and has won consecutive games against teams with winning records for the first time in over a month.

Since the Yankees are figҺting for an AL wild card place, this would be a bad time to rest him. On Friday, they were two games behind the Blue Jays for the final wild card spot in the playoffs.

Judge was 5-for-18 with four strikeouts and seven walks entering Friday.

He was traded about quite a bit, yet he showed no signs of rust. He also had very limited outfield experience, having appeared in just one game.

According to Boone, “the level of at-bats” has been the most notable improvement. He can get out of his swing and accurately read pitches. In the batter’s box, he can accomplish everything he needs to. Obviously, he is not covering the bases as well as he usually would.Because he can’t move as quickly, I’ve avoided him in the field, at least a little bit, on purpose. But I’m glad to report that I think things are getting better. It’s up to us to nurture and strengthen him.

For the Yankees, Judge, and Boone, it’s all about striking a balance.

They have to get Judge out there as much as they can, but they can’t afford to lose him. Upon his comeback, he was granted a game off after playing in two.

After that, he participated in the next four games before getting a day off on Friday.

The Yankees, who are trying to gain steam, couldn’t have asked for better time. However, this was taken into account when the decision was made that Judge would miss rehab games.

It would be preferable if Judge could play in at least half of the games.