Judge Is Back. The Infield Isn't.

The good news arrived alongside the bad: Aaron Judge is back in the lineup, and the Yankees are 8-2 over their last ten games with 21 left to play. The less comfortable news is that Jazz Chisholm Jr. — the depth chart's clear starter at second base — has landed on the injured list with big toe discomfort, and Anthony Volpe has been recalled to help patch the middle infield. New York is 79-62, four back in the AL East, and the roster is doing what it has done all season: bend without quite breaking.

Chisholm's toe has been a storyline since June, so this isn't a surprise so much as a confirmation that the problem didn't go away quietly. Volpe stepping back in gives the Yankees a capable hand at short, and José Caballero has enough positional flexibility to fill gaps, but the infield is thinner than you'd want heading into a stretch run where every game carries real weight.

The offense, at least, is no longer the concern it was two months ago. Judge's presence alone changes the calculus for opposing pitchers, and the lineup has been scoring at a rate that would have seemed optimistic back when this team was grinding through June. Twenty-one games is enough runway to close four games — but not enough to absorb many more roster fires.