NEW YORK _ Aaron Judge isn't in the Yankees' Monday lineup, and he's not likely to return until Wednesday afternoon's game.
That's entirely a manager's decision according to Joe Girardi, who feels the struggling young slugger could use a break.
"I'm probably going to give him a couple of days off to see if that's something that helps him try to refresh him and get him going," Girardi said before Monday night's Indians-Yankees series opener at the Stadium. "He's played in a lot of games, and I'm probably going to give him a couple days off."
After a stellar first half, slashing .329/.440/.691 with 30 home runs and 66 RBIs in 84 games, Judge has slashed .179/.341/.352 with seven homers and 16 RBI in 41 second-half games.
"It might be time to give him a couple of days," said Girardi, who wanted Judge to stay away from on-field baseball activity on Monday. Girardi also wants to avoid using Judge as a pinch-hitter, giving him a complete day off.
Judge has also been seen sporting a postgame ice wrap on his left shoulder, though Girardi said that is more of a maintenance issue than anything physically limiting.
"He's been missing some pitches that he's usually been hitting in the first half," Girardi said. "And sometimes just a couple of days away can refresh a guy and get him back on track.
"It's not what you really want to do, we've tried a lot of different other things. So, we're going to try this."
