New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge is set to return from the injured list on May 9. Now, who will the team send down to make room for him?
New York Yankees fans have heard over the years from general manager Brian Cashman and team owner Hal Steinbrenner if their team were healthier, they would have had a better chance of winning the World Series. While they have become numb to it, the amount of injuries they have suffered in the early goings of the 2023 season is a legitimate concern. The biggest domino to fall was superstar outfielder and team captain Aaron Judge, who was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hip strain suffered in the team’s Apr. 27 game against the Texas Rangers. Prior to Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees have gone 2-5 in Judge’s absence.
But it looks as though the team will get him back very soon.
Judge is on track to be activated off the injured list on Tuesday ahead of their game against the Oakland Athletics. This is tremendous news, as the team will get back one of their most pivotal bats in the lineup. Now there is one huge question remaining.
Who gets sent down?
With Aaron Judge set to be activated off injured list, which Yankee gets sent down?
The most obvious area to look at on the roster is in the outfield. One outfielder we can undoubtedly say is safe is Willie Calhoun, who has stepped up recently with a couple of home runs this past week.
One name that has played a more prominent role in the outfield is Jake Bauers, who was crushing it in the batter’s box in Triple-A to start the season. His first call-up with the Yankees hasn’t been ideal. He suffered a minor injury crashing into the outfield wall at Globe Life Field when making a catch. But, there was also his blunder this past Friday against the Rays, where he failed to make a catch and bobbled the baseball. That play resulted in Tampa scoring the winning run.
In three games played, Bauers recorded a .167 batting average, a .286 on-base percentage, a .667 slugging percentage, one home run, one RBI, one run scored and one hit.
A name that would come as a shock would be Oswaldo Cabrera. While he is the team’s super utility player, he is struggling at the plate. Entering Saturday, Cabrera is slashing .188/.218/.260 while recording one home run, seven RBI, nine runs scored and 18 RBI. But, given the amount of injuries, would they really opt to send down someone who can play near every position?
Judge will be back, but now the question that we will find out is who will be optioned back down to the minor leagues as a corresponding move.