“I don’t think we’re going to see him [Aaron Judge] throwing like he normally does at any point this year, but that’s OK,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told WFAN early Tuesday. “We’ve got to feel like he can go out there and protect himself.” Aaron Judge sure took notice. Late Tuesday, before a game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees’ two-time American League MVP and captain responded, “He hasn’t seen me throw the past two weeks. I’m pretty confident I’ll get back to that,” via media.

When it was Boone’s turn to speak with the media before the game, he offered a more measured explanation, clarifying that he may have overstated his original stance. “Is he going to come back and be a 70-80 arm? I don’t know that I’m expecting that necessarily,” Boone said. “But when we get him back out there, I would expect him to be able to handle it.” However, spoken words don’t come back.

“Kinda supports my comments when I said they are just making sh*t up when it comes to these injuries,” Clint Frazier, who played for the Yanks between 2017 and 2021, shared on his X.

Well, back in April this year, fans accused the Yankees of placing Marcus Stroman on the ‘Phantom Injured List’ just a day after the 2x All-Star self-reported a knee issue. For those unfamiliar, the “phantom IL” is a term used when a team places a player on the injured list for a vague, non-specific issue, such as a minor hamstring or shoulder problem. Well, the practice also violates league policy.

Major League Baseball suspended former New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler in February 2024 for “deliberate fabrication of injuries” over the two previous seasons. According to CBS Sports, the Mets’ frequent use of the injured list was a significant factor. The team placed players on the IL 28 times in 2022 (10th most in baseball) and 25 times in 2023 (11th most in baseball), a pattern that led to the league’s investigation and Eppler’s subsequent suspension.

Reportedly, Aaron Judge first hurt his arm on July 22 while making a throw in Toronto. He played that game and was back in right field two days later, but mostly just floated the ball back to the infield. The Yankees put him on the IL on July 27, and tests showed a sprained flexor. The result? Aaron Judge ended up missing 10 days between late July and early August. Despite making a return on August 05, he’s stayed at DH while Giancarlo Stanton covers right field.

And Boone has made it clear he’s not going to risk rushing Judge back to the outfield. The encouraging part is that Judge has recently stretched his throwing distance out to 150 feet. And given his recent stance, he sounds more confident about getting back to the outfield. Meanwhile, Boone is taking accountability!

Boone set the record straight about accountability

‘Lack of accountability’ has become Yankees clubhouse’s one of the identities these days. But Boone has pushed back against the idea that he and the Yankees don’t hold players accountable. “New York makes you so accountable. It’s inherent,” Boone said on Tuesday.

“It’s a blessing and a curse. You walk through those doors every day, there’s not a more accountable place…accountability is all over these guys 24/7…In a market like this (New York) sometimes…more here than anywhere, I feel like it’s my job to also quiet some of that too,” Boone added. “That accountability, those guys feel it at their core every single day.”

Well, getting Judge back in the outfield would give the Yankees much more flexibility. Right now, Giancarlo Stanton is hitting .299 with 12 HRs and 34 RBIs, but his injury history makes playing the outfield a risky proposition. He didn’t even debut this season until mid-June because of tendinitis in both elbows. And after a brief stretch of three games in the outfield last week, he sat out the next three with soreness.

Hence, all of that just underscores why Judge’s return to the outfield is so important.