Aaron Judge’s Return Has the Yankees Looking Like World Series Contenders Again

Sep 12, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge (99) runs into the dugout prior to the start of the game against the New York Mets at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images The New York Yankees are unbeaten in four games this week against the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets, which is impressive as well as the minimum that should be expected from a team harboring serious World Series aspirations.Yet the symbolic importance of this winning streak, regardless of the opposition, can’t be overstated for the Yankees, whose 4-0 surge coincides with the return of Aaron Judge following a 99-day (speaking of symbolic importance) absence due to a stress fracture in his right rib.The Yankees aren’t winning their long-expected 28th World Series without Judge, whose presence is essential in an otherwise unimposing lineup.Thanks to an impressive rotation and the meager state of the American League, New York managed to go 45-39 while Judge was sidelined, a span in which it went from 1 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays to four games back of the Rays in the AL East.But the lack of Judge wore on those he left behind May 31, when he finally went on the shelf after battling discomfort in the rib area for more than a month.Cody Bellinger, who ranks first amongst Yankees position players in WAR, hit .271 with eight homers and an .855 OPS through Judge’s final pre-IL game. He batted but just .257 with four homers and a .660 OPS during Judge’s absence, a span in which Bellinger also missed 26 games with a strained left hamstring.First-time All-Star Ben Rice, the Yankees’ second-best position player per WAR, was hitting .306 with 17 homers and a 1.056 OPS when Judge went down. He batted .230 with 19 homers and a .768 OPS while playing all but six of New York’s games without Judge.Jose Caballero, who is third on the Yankees in position player WAR, hit .263 average with four homers, 14 stolen bases and a .705 OPS through May 31 but .215 with nine homers, 17 thefts and a .633 OPS with Judge on the shelf.Judge is 3-for-10 without an extra base hit or an RBI in his first three games — he sat out Thursday’s series finale against the Rockies — but the Yankees have scored 27 runs this week. Rice and Bellinger are batting a combined .367 (11-for-30) with three homers and six RBIs in the last four games — including two homers and four RBIs in Friday’s 6-4 win over the Mets.A reinvigorated Rice and Bellinger, coupled with trade deadline revelation Luis Garcia Jr. (who is batting .314 with seven homers and an .886 OPS since being obtained from the Washington Nationals), can help Judge provide the thump the Yankees had in 2024, when Judge teamed up with Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto on a World Series run.Stanton (calf injuries) and Soto (getting booed every time he steps foot in Yankees Stadium after signing with the Mets) are long gone, so the Yankees aren’t getting back where they’re expected to go without Judge. But the path looks a lot more navigable since Tuesday.