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Aaron Judge

Poll: AL MVP Race Check-In

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Back in June, MLBTR conducted a pair of polls checking the temperature on the two MVP races, and both polls saw the league’s reigning MVP earn a dominating majority. Aaron Judge pulled in 55% of the vote in the American League poll, while Shohei Ohtani did even better as he commanded 57% of the vote in the National League’s poll. Since then, Ohtani has broken away from the pack in the NL as he’s more fully resumed two-way duties. While other players like Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Pete Crow-Armstrong have put together excellent seasons of their own in the NL, it’s hard to see that race as anything other than Ohtani’s to lose headed into the final month of the season.

By contrast, the AL MVP race has tightened considerably over the past two months. A big part of that is the fact that  Judge hasn’t looked like his usual superhuman self lately. The 33-year-old is still slashing an absurd .323/.439/.667 (193 wRC+), a figure that leads the majors by a substantial margin. However, Judge’s numbers have come down quite a bit in the past two months. Since the day our last AL MVP poll was published, Judge has hit “just” .240/.385/.540 with 12 homers and a 26% strikeout rate in 192 trips to the plate.

That lack of volume is thanks to a flexor strain in Judge’s elbow that sent him to the injured list for a minimum stint a few weeks ago, and his .210/.380/.403 slash line since returning from the injured list only underscores that he’s not playing at full strength. He’s also been relegated to a DH-only role for the month of August and has no timetable for his return to the outfield, though he’s already begun making throws to the infield in pregame workouts.

Of course, Judge looking mortal for a month or so wouldn’t be terribly noteworthy without someone mounting a substantial challenge for his league’s MVP award. Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is doing exactly that. Raleigh’s phenomenal season has earned him plenty of attention all year, but he’s only garnered more attention as an MVP candidate in the weeks since Judge’s injury. Interestingly, Raleigh’s offensive numbers have slumped a bit right alongside Judge. While he was slashing .278/.383/.665 at the time of our last AL MVP poll, he’s hit a less robust .204/.311/.498 in 235 plate appearances since then. That includes a .202/.302/.524 slash line in August that isn’t all that far ahead of Judge’s numbers.

Even with the pair both cooling at the plate, Raleigh has still been playing catcher regularly and hasn’t missed time on the IL like Judge has. Raleigh, who secured just 37% of the vote in our last poll, now has eight more games played and 31 more plate appearances than Judge. It’s a small gap, but in a close race, an increased defensive workload and slight lead in terms of overall volume could be key differentiators.

There’s also the factor of history to be considered. Judge managed to surpass Ohtani in the 2022 AL MVP race in part because he set the AL home run record that season. Raleigh would need to hit 13 homers before the end of the season in order to take the title of AL home run king away from Judge, but his prodigious power has already secured him one piece of history that Judge has no hope of taking away: last night, he became the first catcher in MLB history to slug 50 homers in a season. All of that comes together to make Raleigh a legitimate contender for the award alongside Judge, and the fact that the pair are tied at the top of the MLB leaderboard with 7.3 fWAR a piece only further speaks to the viability of both candidates.

Few players in the AL have a realistic shot of challenging these two titans, but one player who could make an interesting case for himself with a strong September would be Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who finished second for the award behind Judge last year. Witt only received token consideration for the award in our last poll, garnering just 2.3% of the vote two months ago. Since then, however, he’s outperformed both Judge and Raleigh with a .313/.370/.524 slash line, a 13-for-14 record on the bases, and defense at shortstop that should make him a lock for his second consecutive Gold Glove award at the position. Witt’s 6.5 fWAR and 130 wRC+ both substantially trail Judge and Raleigh at this point, but if those two continue trending downward while Witt continues trending up, it’s at least possible that we could be in for a three-horse race.

Who do MLBTR readers think will ultimately win this year’s AL MVP award? Will Judge hold onto the title for the second year in a row? Will Raleigh’s historic season behind the plate be enough? Could Witt’s second-half surge be enough to overcome both of them? Have your say in the poll below:

Yankees Notes: Judge, Volpe, Cruz

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Aaron Judge has been hampered by a flexor strain in recent weeks. He first spent a minimum stint on the injured list to rest his ailing elbow, and since returning he’s been limited to exclusively DH work. Earlier this week, some questions were raised about just what shape Judge will be able to get his throwing arm back into before the end of the year. Fortunately, any concerns over Judge’s ability to throw seem to be on hold for the time being as Judge started throwing to the bases from the outfield during pregame workouts today.

The reigning AL MVP told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) today that was about “checking a box” in his rehab and that he’s sticking purely to what the team’s trainers tell him to do as he works his way back into condition to resume regular duties in the outfield. Manager Aaron Boone, meanwhile, told reporters (including The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty) that while Judge “looked good” throwing to second base today, there’s still no timetable for his return to the grass in a game setting. Boone emphasized that the club feels it’s important to take Judge’s recovery process slowly in order to avoid re-injury.

That, of course, makes sense given how important Judge’s 196 wRC+ bat is to the lineup. Judge’s .218/.386/.418 (126 wRC+) slash line since returning from the IL on August 5 isn’t quite as robust as his usual otherworldly numbers, but it’s still well above average production that virtually any other hitter in the sport would be happy with. In the meantime, Giancarlo Stanton has begun playing in right field as a temporary solution to get his bat in the lineup while Judge occupies the DH slot.

Stanton’s return to the outfield isn’t the only shakeup of the Yankees lineup from the past few days. Shortstop Anthony Volpe has had a rough year on both sides of the ball, and today Boone made the decision to leave him out of the club’s starting lineup with deadline addition Jose Caballero starting at shortstop in his stead. Boone was non-committal before the game (as noted by Greg Joyce of the New York Post) about when Volpe would return to the starting lineup, but he was used as a defensive replacement in tonight’s game against the Red Sox. After a four-hit performance on August 1, Volpe has hit a paltry .121/.171/.242 in his last 19 games and was charged with an error in last night’s contest. That was enough for the Yankees to decide mix things up for at least a little while, but Volpe suggested after the game to reporters (including Kuty) that he’ll be back in the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Nationals after sitting out tomorrow as well.

For now, it seems like this time out of the lineup is just an opportunity for Volpe to reset amid a tough stretch both at the plate and in the field. With that said, it’s at least possible that the Yankees could be looking to get Caballero a bit more playing time. Since coming over from the Rays at this year’s trade deadline, Caballero has slashed .320/.433/.600 in 31 plate appearances across 14 games with the organization. While Caballero is generally regarded as a below-average hitter overall, that recent hot streak in conjunction with his fairly well-regarded glove and impressive speed on the basepaths could be enough to earn the soon to be 29-year-old infielder some more playing time down the stretch, particularly if Volpe’s struggles continue.

On the pitching side of things, Hoch reports that the Yankees are poised to get some reinforcements tomorrow when right-hander Fernando Cruz is activated from the injured list. Cruz has been sidelined due to an oblique strain for nearly two months, but the 35-year-old had looked nothing short of excellent over the season’s first half with a 3.00 ERA, 2.48 FIP, and an eye-popping 41.2% strikeout rate in 33 innings of work prior to the injury. If Cruz looks anything like that upon his return, he should be a massive asset to a Yankees bullpen that has struggled somewhat despite the aggressive addition of reinforcements at this summer’s trade deadline. David Bednar, Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, and Camilo Doval have all taken turns in save situations but each has looked shaky of late, leaving plenty of opportunity for Cruz to fashion a key role for himself upon his return.

Latest On Aaron Judge’s Flexor Strain

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Aaron Judge is currently limited to DH-only duties after he was briefly sidelined by a right flexor strain last month. He’s still hitting a solid .229/.426/.429 in 11 games since coming off the injured list, but manager Aaron Boone cast some doubt on his ability to return to full strength this year when it comes to throwing yesterday. As noted by The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner, Boone said in both a radio appearance on WFAN and an appearance on Jomboy Media’s Talkin’ Yanks podcast that Judge may not be “throwing like normal” again this year.

Notably, Boone did not say that Judge won’t throw again this year. On Talkin’ Yanks, Boone suggested that Judge will probably need “to play with a little bit of a governor” on his throws before adding that he won’t return to the field until he can throw safely. Kirschner adds that Boone went on to suggest that his comments may have been “a little” overstated, while Judge challenged his manager’s framing of the situation by noting that Boone hadn’t seen him throw in two weeks before adding that he’s “pretty confident” he’ll get back to throwing at full strength this year. At the same time, Judge emphasized that he’s going to “be smart about it” in order to ensure he doesn’t aggravate his ailing elbow and miss more time than his initial ten-day stint on the shelf.

Judge’s injury has forced the Yankees into a difficult balancing act. Any day where the reigning AL MVP can’t hit for the Yankees is a crushing blow, so giving him as long as he might need to act as a pure DH and rest his elbow makes plenty of sense. At the same time, Giancarlo Stanton has been incredibly productive (hitting .299/.377/.576) in 44 games since returning from the injured list earlier this year. A laundry list of past injuries and the likelihood that playing the field could cause additional wear and tear on Stanton’s body has essentially made him into a full-time DH of late, and his recent appearances in right field while Judge has been forced into the DH slot have been his first outings on the grass since 2023.

Stanton has not appeared in more than 38 games in the outfield since 2018, suggesting that playing Stanton in the field can’t be viewed as more than a short-term solution. With Stanton hitting well and unlikely to be able to handle regular outfield work for long, the Yankees will be better off the sooner Judge can return to the field—so long as Judge doesn’t cause himself to miss time by doing so. The change has also caused Ben Rice to get more starts behind the plate in order to allow both him and Paul Goldschmidt to stay in the lineup on a regular basis, cutting the playing time of Austin Wells. Of course, Wells has struggled at the plate recently with a .119/.172/.186 slash line since the All-Star break, so he may well have been in line to lose some playing time even before Judge took over at DH.

While the club waits for Judge to be healthy enough to play the field, they’re locked in a tight playoff race. The Blue Jays have opened up a five game lead over New York to take control of the AL East, but the Yankees are just one game ahead of the Red Sox and Mariners among the AL’s Wild Card teams, with Kansas City lurking just 2.5 games back of a playoff spot and Cleveland only three games out. The final few weeks of the season will be crucial as those five clubs vie for their league’s three Wild Card spots, and if the playoff race tightens further that will only give further importance to the Yankees’ decision-making going forward regarding Judge and Stanton.

Yankees Notes: Judge, Bellinger, Goldschmidt, Slater, Schlittler

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Aaron Judge’s right flexor strain continues to be the overarching story impacting the Yankees’ business on and off the field as the trade deadline approaches.  Manager Aaron Boone provided some more details on Judge’s status in an interview with Jomboy Media’s “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast (link to X) today, saying that Judge is slated to start hitting off a tee no later than tomorrow.  It will still be 10-15 more days before Judge is able to throw, however, keeping with the initial expectation that Judge will be limited to DH duty when he is able to return to New York’s lineup.

Judge received a PRP injection in order to help the healing process, and if he is able to swing without discomfort, that should allow him to get back into the field at least as a designated hitter.  It’s a good sign that Judge is already set to take some swings, though there won’t be many sighs of relief in the Bronx until Judge is officially back from the 10-day IL, and perhaps not until he is able to take his regular spot back in right field.  The longer Judge is DH-locked, the longer Giancarlo Stanton will have to play the outfield, which is itself a roll of the dice considering Stanton’s lengthy injury history.

The ripple effect of Judge’s injury can’t be understated, as the superstar’s absence adds to the recent misery for a Yankees team that is 15-24 over its last 39 games.  While the Yankees are 57-49 and remain the AL’s top wild card team, SNY’s Andy Martino reported yesterday that the club was considering selling some talent at the deadline if Judge’s elbow issue had proved to be season-ending.  Following up on that report, Martino adds that the Yankees floated Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt in talks with at least one team.  Goldschmidt is an impending free agent, and Bellinger can opt out of his $25MM player option for 2026 and enter the open market as well following the season.

This could just be due diligence and an example of how front offices tend to prepare for any scenario, as Martino again stressed that it is quite unlikely that the Bronx Bombers will be anything but deadline buyers.  New York has already been busy on the trade front in adding Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario, and remain linked to multiple other players on the rumor mill.

Austin Slater is the latest name in the mix, as ESPN’s Buster Olney lists Slater as one of the right-handed hitting outfielders on the Bombers’ list of possible targets.  The veteran outfielder is hitting .244/.308/.437 over 131 plate appearances for the White Sox this season, with an .897 OPS in 74 PA against left-handed pitching.

A right meniscus tear shelved Slater for about five weeks earlier this season, but has looked good since returning in May.  Slater is one of the more inexpensive rentals on the market, as he has only around $580K remaining on his $1.75MM salary for the 2025 campaign.  He’d fit into any team’s budget at that number, so plenty of teams beyond just the Yankees figure to be checking in with the White Sox.

As Martino noted, the Yankees may be more apt to make modest deadline upgrades than to swing any real headline-grabbing trades.  If the club did do something a little more consequential like move a highly-touted prospect, Cam Schlittler might be a player to watch, as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch writes that the right-hander “is rumored to be near the top of several wish lists” from rival teams.

Schlittler is just three starts into his big league career, with a 4.91 ERA over his 14 2/3 inning in the Show.  His 13.2% walk rate and three home runs allowed are signs of growing pains, but Schlittler has posted very good numbers in the minors since being a seventh-round pick for New York in the 2022 draft.  Offering a big league-ready young starter can open the door in many trade talks, yet given how the Yankees are themselves stretched for rotation depth, they might well see the value in keeping Schlittler for the rest of the 2025 stretch run, let alone for the future.

Yankees Place Aaron Judge On Injured List With Flexor Strain

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July 27: The Yankees announced this morning that Judge has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right flexor strain. Infielder Amed Rosario is replacing Judge on the roster after he was acquired from Nationals last night.

July 26: Yankees superstar Aaron Judge underwent testing earlier today due to what the Yankees termed an “elbow issue,” and manager Aaron Boone relayed the results of that testing to reporters this afternoon. As relayed by several reporters including Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Boone revealed this afternoon that Judge is suffering from a flexor strain. He’ll need to be placed on the injured list and will be limited to DH-only duties for a time upon his return, but Boone added that there is no tear in Judge’s UCL and described the diagnosis as “good news.”

ESPN’s Jorge Castillo was among those to relay that Boone suggested it’s “possible” that Judge could be back in the lineup as a DH after a minimum ten-day stint on the shelf, at which point he could begin a throwing program with an eye towards returning to the outfield later on. Castillo adds that Boone noted he’s already spoken to incumbent DH Giancarlo Stanton about getting some outfield reps while Judge occupies the DH slot upon his return. Jon Heyman of the New York Post added that the ideal scenario for the Yankees is that Judge misses ten days on the IL, then serves as the club’s DH for ten more days before returning the outfield in just 20 days total. It’s an aggressive timeline that would put Judge back in right field on a regular basis in the middle of August.

Flexor strains are often a precursor to UCL damage but can typically be resolved with rest, with the exact amount of rest necessary dependent on the severity of the strain. With such an aggressive timeline being discussed at this point, it seems likely that Judge is dealing with a relatively minor strain. With that being said, the Yankees’ top priority is surely to avoid damage to Judge’s UCL that could require surgery. It would be a surprise if the club was willing to rush their generational talent back to the field before they were completely certain that he won’t cause further damage to his elbow by continuing to play.

Whether Judge will ultimately return to the roster after just a minimum stint and be back in the outfield shortly thereafter or he’ll require a longer absence, the fact that Judge shouldn’t require surgery is surely cause for relief among the Yankees faithful. Even so, any time missed by the reigning AL MVP will be a tough blow given his singular importance to the team’s lineup. Always a prolific hitter, Judge has unlocked another gear to his game since the start of the 2022 season when he crushed an AL-record 62 homers and won his first MVP award. He was limited to just 106 games by injury in 2023 but delivered another MVP performance last year that was more or less identical to his 2022 campaign. This year has been more of the same so far, as he’s slashed an unbelievable .342/.449/.711 while leading the majors in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, and total bases as well as both bWAR and fWAR.

Losing that caliber of hitter would hurt for any lineup, but it’s especially damaging for a Yankees position player corps that has gotten up-and-down performances from other key hitters like Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and Ben Rice. Bellinger, Trent Grisham, and Jasson Dominguez should be able to handle things in the outfield while Judge is out of commission, but it’s undeniable that Dominguez’s league average bat is a huge step down from the elite offense Judge has offered. While no one can reasonably be expected to replace an MVP candidate, it’s possible that reinforcements from the minors (or even another club ahead of the trade deadline) could help to soften the blow over the coming days.

Top outfield prospect Spencer Jones has been raking in his first taste of Triple-A action this year and might seem like a logical choice to replace Judge on the roster, but Jack Curry of the YES Network writes that Jones missed last night’s game for the RailRiders because of back spasms. That could leave fellow Triple-A outfielders Everson Pereira and Bryan De La Cruz as the most likely options to step up in Judge’s place, particularly given that both are already on the club’s 40-man roster. It wasn’t too long ago that Pereira was in the top-100 prospect conversation, and while injuries have sidelined him in recent years he’s posted a strong .256/.353/.516 line in 300 Triple-A plate appearances this year. De La Cruz has less impressive numbers, but does boast a longer track record in the big leagues.

With Judge expected to return this season and potentially do so without even spending very long on the injured list, it’s unlikely that his injury will cause the Yankees to pull back from their plan of buying in the coming days as they look to catch the Blue Jays in the AL East. It’s not out of the question, however, that the club could have more interest in adding further additions to the offense in the wake of today’s news even after trading for third baseman Ryan McMahon yesterday. Speculatively speaking, a versatile hitter capable of helping out all over the diamond like Twins utility man Willi Castro or versatile Cardinals hitter Brendan Donovan (the latter of whom New York was recently connected to) could be very attractive as a short-term boost to the outfield mix while Judge recovers who could then shift to the infield mix long-term.

Aaron Judge Undergoing Testing For “Elbow Issue”

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Aaron Judge isn’t in the Yankees’ starting lineup, as manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including YES Network’s Jack Curry, NJ Advance Media’s Max Goodman, and the New York Post’s Joel Sherman) that the superstar is undergoing testing on what Boone described as an “elbow issue.”  Judge had some difficulty making throws from right field in yesterday’s 12-5 loss to the Phillies, so the scans were ordered to examine what exactly is wrong with the reigning AL MVP’s right arm.

It appears as though the injury initially took place in Tuesday’s 5-4 win over the Blue Jays, as Judge was seen grimacing after making a throw from deep right field.  Boone said Judge seemed to be feeling fine after Thursday’s off-day, yet the discomfort resurfaced during Friday’s game.

More will be known when the results of the tests are in, and Boone didn’t comment on the seriousness of the potential injury.  Needless to say, the Yankees and their fans are dearly hoping that Judge’s elbow doesn’t have any structural damage, as a significant injury would be devastating to New York’s postseason chances, let alone its chances of a return trip to the World Series.

Judge is in the midst of yet another incredible season, as he leads the majors in all three slash categories (.342/.449/.711), hits (129), total bases (268), and both fWAR (7.2) and bWAR (6.8).  Judge has an unreal 208 wRC+, which would be tied for 15th on the all-time single-season wRC+ list.  It would also mark the third time in the last four seasons that Judge has topped the 200 wRC+ mark, following his 206 wRC+ in 2022 and his 219 wRC+ in 2024.  Those other two seasons saw Judge win AL MVP honors, and he and the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh are far and away the top two favorites for this year’s award.

A stint on the injured list could throw a wrench into the MVP race, but more importantly, into the Yankees’ hopes of contention.  New York’s once-healthy lead in the AL East has been erased by a 14-22 record over its last 36 games, and a subsequent surge by the Blue Jays has elevated Toronto to both the best record in baseball and 5.5-game advantage over the Yankees in the AL East.  The Yankees are still the top AL wild card team, though their 56-47 record doesn’t provide much cushion over the Rangers, whose 54-50 record leads the list of American League clubs below the playoff line.

A day-to-day type of injury for Judge would therefore still hamper the Yankees, even if it naturally represents the best-case scenario in the bigger picture.  The Bronx Bombers’ next off-day isn’t until August 7, so the team doesn’t even have the benefit of a break in the schedule to give Judge some built-in rest.  If the soreness persists for Judge, a 10-day IL stint might be in the cards for precautionary reasons, even if the scans come back clean.

On paper, the Yankees have enough depth to manage this scenario.  Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, and Jasson Dominguez become the everyday outfield trio, and Giancarlo Stanton and Ben Rice split the DH at-bats, with potentially a new right-handed hitting infield type also added to the depth chart to bring more balance to a lineup that would tilt even further to the left if Judge is sidelined.  This is probably enough to get the team by over a short-term absence for Judge, and perhaps the one silver lining to the situation is that it came in advance of the trade deadline, so the front office can adjust their buying plans if Judge will indeed miss time.

That said, obviously there’s no way to actually replace a talent like Judge.  If he is forced to miss an extended amount of time, it isn’t a reach to suggest that the injury could torpedo New York’s season.  While the Yankees have some of the best overall offensive numbers of any team in baseball, Judge is such a singular focal point within the lineup that losing him would suddenly put the spotlight on the more inconsistent nature of New York’s other hitters.

Poll: AL MVP Race Check-In

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While days off and postponements leave clubs around the league without a uniform number of games played, one of the games in this week’s slate will represent the halfway point in the season for every team across MLB. With an MVP set to be crowned in both leagues after the season, that means two players are already halfway through a year that will earn them the sport’s most prestigious individual award. Who are the frontrunners to claim the trophy for themselves this offseason? We’ll be looking at both leagues over the next two days, starting with the American League:

Aaron Judge

Major stars like Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, and Kyle Tucker have migrated to the National League in recent years, but Judge would arguably have entered the season as the odds-on favorite even if he were still competing with them. The slugger already won the MVP award in both 2022 and ’24. Ohtani won back-to-back MVP awards in 2023 and ’24, but those were for two different teams in two different leagues. Judge would be the first player to win back-to-back MVPs in the same league since Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and ’13. Uncommon as the feat may be, Judge seems well positioned to pull it off. His .367/.468/.727 (225 wRC+) slash line is nothing short of comical, and he already has an absurd 6.0 WAR season according to Fangraphs through just 77 games.

That’s a higher total than stars like Jackson Merrill and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. were able to cobble together in a full slate of games last year, and it’s hard to argue with those numbers. Dominant as Judge has been, however, it must be pointed out that he’s currently benefiting from an eye-popping .453 BABIP. That figure is 100 points higher than his career mark, which is already at the high end of the spectrum for sustainable BABIP figures. It would be the highest BABIP by a qualified player since 1871 if he were to maintain it over a full season, and just the second time a player posted a BABIP of even .400 since 2002, joining Yoan Moncada’s 2019 campaign.

Cal Raleigh

If anyone has a chance to challenge Judge for the title, Raleigh likely has the best shot. He’s hit a whopping 31 home runs this season to capture the MLB-wide lead, and his .276/.383/.659 (191 wRC+) slash line is almost as incredible as that of Judge. Raleigh’s 5.1 fWAR is second in the majors to Judge as well, and he’s even managed to chip in on the bases by swiping nine bags in 11 opportunities. Of course, the most impressive thing about Raleigh’s season is that he’s doing all of this while playing the game’s most taxing defensive position. He’s caught 58 of the 75 games he’s appeared in, and if he keeps this up over the full season he’d surpass legendary seasons by Buster Posey in 2012 and Johnny Bench in 1972 to put together the best season behind the plate in MLB history.

The biggest obstacle to Raleigh turning this first-half momentum into an MVP win is, of course, Judge. While Raleigh has the edge in terms of baserunning, defense, home runs, and strikeout rate, Judge is leading in WAR, wRC+, walk rate, all three triple slash categories, and games played. There’s no question about whose season has been more productive when stripping away the context of Raleigh’s position, and Judge might need to cool off significantly in the second half just for their numbers to be comparable when all is said and done.

Bobby Witt Jr.

After finishing second to Judge in 2024 AL MVP voting with a stellar campaign, Witt is back at it this year with another banner year. His elite shortstop glove has made him the second most valuable defender in baseball according to Fangraphs, and he’s already stolen 21 bases after swiping just 31 total last year. With that being said, the power that allowed him to swat 32 homers last year has taken a big step back. The drop off in power has left him with a .286/.343/.490 (123 wRC+) slash line that’s well above average but not quite MVP-caliber, and he would likely need to turn things up a notch in the second half and benefit from steps backward by Judge and Raleigh in order to have a chance at coming home with the trophy.

Jeremy Pena

Perhaps the most surprising entrant into this list, Pena has never so much as made an All-Star appearance in his career but is in the midst of an incredible season. He’s slashed .326/.380/.493 (149 wRC+) in 78 games so far this year with 11 homers and 15 steals in 17 attempts alongside an excellent 16.1% strikeout rate. That wRC+ is seventh-highest among qualified AL hitters, and Pena benefits further from playing a valuable defensive position in shortstop. With that being said, he’s not quite on the level of Witt defensively and his .365 BABIP is elevated well outside the range of his career norms. Like Witt, he’ll likely need a massive slowdown in production from Judge and Raleigh in order to be a serious contender for the award this year.

Other Options

Judge, Raleigh, Witt, and Pena are all more or less in a class of their own at this point in the season, and even Witt and Pena would need a lot to go right in order for them to catch the two front-runners. With that being said, there are some other at least plausible candidates. Tarik Skubal continues to dominate on the mound and his 3.9 fWAR tally matches that of Witt and Pena. Jose Ramirez remains as consistent as ever and could put up another 30-30 season this year. Jonathan Aranda has been one of baseball’s best hitters this year but doesn’t play a premium position. Byron Buxton has flashed all five tools this year with strong defense, elite speed, and a 155 wRC+ but will have trouble garnering much attention with just 60 games played so far.

Who do you think will ultimately come out on top in AL MVP voting? Will Judge reign supreme once again, or could another challenger like Raleigh step up to claim the trophy? Have your say in the poll below:

Yankees Notes: LeMahieu, Outfield, Judge

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It’s been a tough few days on the injury front for Yankees fans. After the club announced yesterday that right-hander Luis Gil is set to undergo an MRI due to shoulder troubles and not long after it was made public that slugger Giancarlo Stanton will begin the season on the injured list due to soreness in both elbows, another potentially key player for the club went down with a potential injury: veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu.

As noted by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, manager Aaron Boone told reporters this afternoon that LeMahieu “tweaked” a calf muscle during his second at-bat during today’s game, which was LeMahieu’s spring debut. LeMahieu is receiving treatment for the issue, but Boone called the situation “at least a little concerning” given the veteran’s recent injury history. LeMahieu was limited to just 67 games due to a number of injuries last year, including a hip impingement that ultimately ended his season.

It’s a particularly troubling development seeing as LeMahieu was a likely candidate to be the club’s starting third baseman on Opening Day. A recent MLBTR Poll suggested that 27.5% of respondents expected LeMahieu to receive the lion’s share of playing time at third base this year. That was enough to beat out both Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza as the top internal candidate for the job, though a 34% plurality of respondents suggested that the Yankees’ primary solution at the hot corner was likely to be someone not yet in the organization.

Perhaps today’s injury will make that more likely if LeMahieu winds up unable to get back in time for the beginning of the season later this month, though the pickings remain quite slim on the market with part-time veteran Jose Iglesias standing out as the best infield option still available. If the Yankees can’t find an external solution for the hot corner before Opening Day, it seems likely that Cabrera and Peraza will handle the position in a timeshare until LeMahieu is ready to return, though it’s possible a player such as Jorbit Vivas or Pablo Reyes could make a push for the job as well.

Aside from the news regarding LeMahieu, Hoch suggests that the injury to Stanton could lead to a realigned outfield with Trent Grisham joining the lineup in center field, with Cody Bellinger sliding from center to right field and Aaron Judge moving to DH. Such an arrangement would improve the club’s defense overall by adding a plus glove in center field while also avoiding injury risks for Judge, the reigning AL MVP who stands out as the club’s most important player entering the year. Hoch adds that Boone noted that giving Judge occasional partial days off at DH could be valuable early in the season, though Boone was quick to emphasize that he also values Judge’s ability to contribute on defense in right field. On days where Grisham isn’t joining the lineup in center field and pushing a regular to DH, the club’s internal options to fill in for Stanton include youngster Ben Rice and non-roster invitee Dominic Smith.

Sticking with Judge, the MVP spoke to reporters (including Hoch) this afternoon about his desire to get more at-bats under his belt during Spring Training this year. Today was Judge’s first appearance in a Spring Training game of the year, and notably he received just 24 official at-bats in the spring last season. Judge suggested that additional reps before the season begins could help him to prevent a slow start like the one he had last year, where he batted just .197/.331/.393 in his first 149 trips to the plate before turning his season around in early May and hitting a sensational .357/.492/.787 the rest of the way. Obviously, that type of otherworldly production over the majority of the season would be more than enough to make up for another early-season slump, but Judge’s goal of getting something closer to 40 or 50 plate appearances in this spring is an understandable one given his struggles early last year.

Yankees Expected To Move Aaron Judge Back To Right Field In 2025

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Reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge is currently expected to move back to his longtime position of right field for the 2025 season, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. Judge has appeared in right field during more than 75% of his career games in the outfield but played center field almost exclusively in 2024 in order to accommodate the addition of Juan Soto to the club’s lineup. Now that Soto has departed for Queens on a record-breaking deal, however, Judge will be able to return to his old stomping grounds.

“We’re not afraid to run [Judge] out in center like we’ve done, but I think it makes sense to have him over in right,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman said Monday, as relayed by Hoch. He went on to suggest that sliding Judge back to his natural position offers top outfield prospect Jasson Dominguez a “clear lane” to capture the starting center field job entering Spring Training, though Hoch notes that Cashman added he isn’t currently ready to anoint the 21-year-old as the club’s starter for next season.

Even if the club ultimately opts to send Dominguez back to Triple-A (where he’s hit well but has just 53 total games under his belt) to open the 2025 campaign, the club figures to have number of options they could consider that would keep Judge in right. Perhaps the most obvious internal solution for center outside of Dominguez is Trent Grisham, who the club avoided arbitration with last month by agreeing to a $5MM contract despite the fact that Grisham was strictly used as a bench player by the club after being acquired from the Padres alongside Soto last winter. The 28-year-old appeared in 76 games last year as a late-inning defensive replacement or to fill in for Judge in center field when the slugger had the day off or was DH’ing for the day, but received just 209 plate appearances total despite being an everyday player in San Diego in each of the previous four seasons.

Grisham’s .190/.290/.385 slash line was good for a decent 91 wRC+, and a .217 BABIP that was well below his career norms may suggest room for positive regression going forward. That decent bat combined with an elite glove at a premium position makes Grisham a plausible candidate for a starting role, and Hoch suggests the club could look for a right-handed center fielder to pair with Grisham at the position this winter. Grisham and Dominguez aren’t the only internal options the club has in center, as Jazz Chisholm Jr. has two seasons’ worth of experience at the position from his time in Miami. With that said, Hoch did not mention Chisholm as even a theoretical candidate for the position headed into 2025, and all signs point to the Yankees planning to use the 26-year-old sparkplug at either second or third base next year.

Turning back to Grisham, the extremely thin market for center fielders this winter could pose an obstacle to any plans of platooning him in center as the Yankees would likely be limited to light-hitting bench players with impressive defense like Harrison Bader, Michael A. Taylor, and Cristian Pache. One other potential addition the Yankees could make to their outfield mix who is capable of playing center would be Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger. The Yankees are known to have at least checked in on the 2019 NL MVP this winter, and Hoch reiterates that the club is “intrigued” by 29-year-old. Bellinger is coming off a down season in Chicago where he hit a solid but unspectacular .266/.325/.426 (109 wRC+) in 130 games. While Bellinger’s 7.9% walk rate was solid and his 15.6% strikeout rate was genuinely impressive, he mustered only 18 home runs with the Cubs this year after clubbing 26 the year prior.

That’s still solid production, but a combination of Bellinger’s hefty $27.5MM salary for 2025 and the Cubs’ deep mix of outfield options has led the club to shop him quite aggressively this winter. According to Hoch, the Yankees’ interest in Bellinger stems at least in part from his positional versatility. Bellinger is a roughly average defensive center fielder at this stage of his career, offering less upside with the glove than a player like Grisham or even Dominguez but more than capable of handling the position on a regular basis if needed. That defense goes from average to well above average when Bellinger is parked in either outfield corner, and he’s also capable of handling first base with nearly 2500 career innings in the majors at the position. Judge stands as the only player locked into everyday reps in the club’s outfield mix next year with Soto now out of the picture, and given the club’s hole at first base it’s easy to see how acquiring a player like Bellinger could offer them plenty of flexibility as they look to retool their roster with a number of possible targets for both the infield and outfield on the table.

Aaron Judge Wins AL MVP

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Aaron Judge is the MVP once again. The Baseball Writers Association of America announced this evening that the Yankee captain was the unanimous choice for the American League’s top player this year. Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals was the unanimous runner-up, getting all of the second-place votes. Judge’s teammate Juan Soto finished third in the voting.

Judge was the AL MVP in 2022, his 62-homer campaign. While he came up just shy of that in 2024 with “only” 58 home runs, he roughly kept pace with himself in most categories. His 24.3% strikeout rate was actually a personal best, slightly ahead of the 25.1% clip from his previous MVP campaign. His 18.9% walk rate was a few ticks better than the 15.9% clip from two years ago. His 10 steals were a bit of a drop from his 16 from two years back, but his 144 runs batted in were a gain of 13.

Overall, his offensive contributions led to a ridiculous .322/.458/.701 slash line this year. That translated to a 218 wRC+, indicating he was 118% better than league average this year. That was an improvement over his 206 wRC+ in 2022.

On top of his work at the plate, he also contributed in the field. While he’s primarily been a right fielder in his career, he spent a career-high 903 innings in center in 2024. While he didn’t receive strong marks for his work there, simply being able to play up the middle was valuable to the Yanks, given the demands of the position. FanGraphs considered him to be worth 11.2 wins above replacement on the year, a slight increase over his 11.1 fWAR in 2022.

That all-time performance made it an easy choice for voters. That’s unfortunate for Witt, who played at a level that’d be enough to win MVP in a lot of years. The Royals’ star shortstop led the majors with a .332 average and 211 hits. He slashed .332/.389/.588 with 32 homers and 31 steals while playing excellent defense. FanGraphs credited Witt with more than 10 WAR in his own right. Since Witt finished in the top three in MVP voting within his first three MLB seasons, the Royals receive an extra pick after the first round in next year’s draft.

Soto had arguably the best full season of his career, hitting 41 homers with a .288/.419/.569 slash in what may be his only year as a Yankee. This is his third top five MVP finish. Soto received 21 third-place votes. Gunnar Henderson and José Ramírez, who finished fourth and fifth respectively, were the only others to land in third on some ballots. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Tarik Skubal, Jarren Duran, Yordan Alvarez, Brent Rooker, Emmanuel Clase, Cal Raleigh, Rafael Devers, Anthony Santander, Jose Altuve, Seth Lugo, Corey Seager, Framber Valdez and Detroit reliever Tyler Holton also appeared on at least one ballot.

Full voter breakdown from BBWAA.

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