It has been nearly six weeks since we’ve seen Aaron Judge in uniform, since we saw the reigning AL MVP tear a ligament in his big right toe crashing into the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium.
There is no timetable for his return. Thus, time is running out for him to save the Yankees’ season.
The Yankees open the second half of the season Friday night in Colorado, sitting one game back of the final AL wild card spot.
When Judge went down on June 3, the Yankees were 35-25. Since then, the team has gone 14-17, scoring the third-fewest runs in the majors while sporting the worst batting average (.218) and on-base percentage (.288) in the majors over that span.
The Yankees responded by firing hitting coach Dillon Lawson, who became the first coach fired midseason in Brian Cashman’s quarter-century as general manager. They hired Sean Casey, the former All-Star turned broadcaster who has no professional coaching experience.
Even if he did, it wouldn’t help him invent an elixir that takes five years off the ages of Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson, Anthony Rizzo and DJ LeMahieu.
In all likelihood, the Yankees’ postseason hopes — and perhaps the fates of Cashman and Aaron Boone — hinge on the potential return of Judge, who is batting .291 with a 1.078 OPS — nearly matching his 1.111 OPS during last season’s historic 62-homer campaign — and leads the team in home runs (19) and RBIs (40) despite playing in just 49 games.
The uncertainty surrounding Judge is just one of the biggest questions hanging over the second half of the season.
Here are some of the other major storylines to follow around baseball in the coming weeks and months:
How much does hope cost?
You may have heard: Mets owner Steve Cohen is spending nearly half a billion dollars on the most expensive roster in major league history. The Padres, who are spending roughly half that amount, rank third in payroll.
Both teams entered the season with title expectations — after meeting in a wild-card series last year — but now enter the second half likely needing remarkable turnarounds to stay in the playoff race.
The Mets (42-48) are seven games out of the final National League wild card spot. The Padres (43-47) are six games back.
Both teams have the talent to climb back into contention. But can either one live up to its lofty preseason expectations?
Shohei Ohtani’s future
It would be incredibly bold for the Angels to trade the once-in-a-lifetime talent before the Aug. 1 deadline, but the possibility exists with Ohtani set to become a free agent and sign the largest deal in the sport’s history this offseason.
Mike Trout’s most recent injury and the Angels’ (45-46) struggles to close the first half — they are five games back of the final AL wild card spot — only raise the likelihood of a potential deal for the dual threat, who appears likely to leave the perennial loser in a matter of months.
If the Angels fear fan backlash and/or believe he may return to Anaheim, Ohtani will finish his soon-to-be second MVP season with a chance at an thinkable combination of 60 home runs (he has 32) and the best opponents’ batting average (currently a MLB-low .189) of any pitcher in baseball.
Chasing .400
It has been nearly 82 years since any player hit .400, since Ted Williams famously refused the help of a rounding number and went 6-for-8 in a season-closing doubleheader to end 1941 at .406.
Rod Carew (.388) and George Brett came close (.390) to matching the feat. Tony Gwynn (.394) was denied the opportunity by the 1994 strike.
Now, Luis Arraez has his chance. The Marlins second baseman, who holds a .327 lifetime average, currently is batting .383.
If any player can make a run at .400, it is the player who boasts the majors’ best line drive percentage and the highest contact rate in a quarter-century, according to Fangraphs.
Who is for real?
Check every season preview. Look at every prediction. You will find no one knew what was coming this season.
The Orioles (54-35) are on pace to make the postseason for the first time in seven years.
The Rangers (52-39) also are on pace to clinch their first playoff berth in seven years, leading the AL West — and reigning World Series champion Astros — despite losing prized offseason pickup Jacob deGrom.
The Marlins (53-39) have sprinted past the Phillies and the Mets, and are moving closer to their first full-season playoff appearance since their 2003 title.
Thanks to a 16-5 record in games played by rookie phenom Elly De La Cruz, the Reds (50-41) have moved into first place in the NL Central, which they haven’t won in 11 years.
The Diamondbacks (52-39) haven’t won a division title in a dozen years, but currently are in a virtual tie with the Dodgers atop of the NL West.
How many of baseball’s biggest surprises can finish strong?
The other MVP
Ohtani understandably owns the spotlight in the sport, routinely doing things that no player in the majors — stretching back to the 19th century — has ever done. But Ronald Acuña Jr. is approaching the unprecedented, too.
The NL MVP front-runner, who is leading the league-best Braves (60-29), could soon become the fifth player in history to hit 40 home runs and record 40 stolen bases in a single season. He could become the first player in 14 years to steal 70 bases in a season. And he could start a new club — how about the 40/70?
Acuña, who is batting .331, has 21 home runs and 41 stolen bases.
Today’s back page
Read more:
🏈 Giants’ $19.5 million guaranteed offer not enough for Saquon Barkley
🏀 Why Quentin Grimes’ Knicks future is suddenly in question
⚾ Tracing the beginning of Anthony Volpe’s Yankees obsession
Can’t knock Quinnen’s payday
The Jets’ return to “Hard Knocks” just became less intriguing, but the team’s future just got brighter.
Coming 13 years after Darrelle Revis’ holdout dominated the focus of the Jets’ unforgettable appearance on the HBO program, the team has ensured it will avoid a similar distraction during this year’s training camp by locking up defensive anchor Quinnen Williams to a four-year, $96 million extension ($66 million guaranteed).
Williams, 25, who skipped the team’s voluntary workouts and expressed frustration with the franchise on social media, has secured the largest guarantee in Jets history while becoming the second-highest-paid defensive tackle in the league ($24 million average annual value) behind the Rams’ Aaron Donald.
Williams, who previously was set to make $9.6 million on the final year of his rookie contract, is the first Jets draft pick to earn a multi-year second contract from the team since 2011 draft pick Muhammad Wilkerson.
While Aaron Rodgers will be tasked with elevating the Jets offense to the level of a championship contender, Williams is expected to remain the backbone of a defense, which finished last season ranked fourth in the league.
The former third overall pick out of Alabama was a first-time Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro selection last season, recording a team-high 12 sacks and the highest pressure percentage (13.4) in the NFL, according to NextGen Stats. Williams has 27.5 sacks, 191 tackles and 60 quarterback hits in 57 career games.
The Jets open training camp on Wednesday. No trips to the Roscoe Diner will be necessary this time.
Lawn shots
If you are a regular reader of this newsletter (thanks!), you may recall that I recommended throwing a wager on Ons Jabeur (+1700) to win Wimbledon before the tournament began.
On Thursday, the No. 6 seed from Tunisia moved within one step of her first grand slam title with a comeback win over No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3, in a thrilling semifinal, setting up a finals matchup with unseeded Marketa Vondrousova.
I hope you jumped aboard. And I promise not to judge if you opt to hedge (Vondrousova is +190 on DraftKings).
If we’re lucky, this weekend we’ll also see Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz face off in a major final for the first time.
Djokovic is a heavy favorite Friday against No. 8 seed Jannik Sinner, a 21-year-old who is playing in his first career grand slam semifinal, but took the first two sets off Djokovic in last year’s quarterfinal matchup at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz, the No. 1 seed, is also favored in a heavyweight battle against fellow former U.S. Open champion and No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev, who won their lone head-to-head matchup at Wimbledon two years ago. Alcaraz, though, dominated their most recent encounter in March at Indian Wells.
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