As the Yankees get set for a new season with heightened expectations, they will need their homegrown superstar in Aaron Judge to be the player he was in 2022, and before his toe injury in 2023.
The problem is, Keith isn’t sure if Judge can get back to that level.
“When Judge came back, there were some games where Judge wasn’t himself,” Keith said. “He didn’t do too much…he was at an MVP pace before he ran into the wall. He came back and did some things…even in spring training, I know it’s spring training, but Judge hasn’t looked like himself. I don’t know if he’s just gonna magically snap back into being the dominant player he was with the toe, the oblique, the abdominal mid-spring beat-up.
“Judge is only another year older. I hope Judge is still dominant the way he was when he was proving it to Cashman and the Yankees that they had to pay him.”
Judge hit just .212 in his first 31 games back after the toe injury last season, though he managed to draw a bunch of walks to maintain an .879 OPS. He looked back to his old self in the month of September, posting a 1.066 OPS with eight home runs in 26 games. The Yankees will need more of that, but given the way spring training went, Keith isn’t sure that a superstar version of Judge is as inevitable as some think.
“He’s getting older and he’s got a history of injuries, so he’s worn down, he’s beat up,” Keith said. “That bigger frame is just not gonna hold up over time.
“I love Judge. He’s a freak. But 2022, we’re never seeing that again.”
