Aaron Judge ‘not pulling’ for Cal Raleigh in chase for his AL home run record
With another homer Monday, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh extended his major league-leading number to 50.
Through the same 132 games three years ago, Aaron Judge had 51 homers en route to his franchise and American League-record of 62.
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Judge said Monday he’s aware of the season the Mariners catcher is putting together, as the two of them are the clear front-runners for the AL MVP.
“Cal Raleigh is a great guy and a great ambassador for the game,’’ Judge said. “I love watching him do his thing.”
But that doesn’t mean he wants Raleigh to get it, with Seattle entering Monday half a game behind the Yankees for the second wild card spot in the AL.
Asked about Raleigh’s potential pursuit of Judge’s AL mark, Judge said, “We’re in a fight for the wild card and the division. I’m not pulling for anyone to do anything that’s not the Yankees.”
Judge broke Roger Maris’ 61-year-old record in 2022 as he headed toward free agency, when he signed his nine-year, $360 million contract.
As for the record itself, which some consider the true home run record, since every player who’s hit more than Judge’s 62 — Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa — has been linked to steroids, Judge said, “Other people worry about that stuff more than I do.”
Judge continues to serve as the DH while he deals with an elbow flexor strain.
He upped his activity in right field prior to Monday’s series-opening 10-5 win over the Nationals in The Bronx, playing catch and throwing to cutoff men from the right field corner, among other drills.
The Yankees still haven’t announced a timeline for Judge’s return to the outfield, with Cody Bellinger starting there on Monday and Giancarlo Stanton sitting after he started three out of four games in right against the Red Sox.
Fernando Cruz is expected to be activated Tuesday.
Paving the way for that transaction, late Monday night the Yankees optioned Yerry De los Santos after the righty covered 2 ²/₃ innings in which he was charged with four runs (three of which scored when Mark Leiter Jr. entered and allowed a grand slam).
With Paul Blackburn not available, the Yankees essentially again played a man down rather than activate Cruz on Monday or Sunday.
Cruz “was ready to go Sunday,” manager Aaron Boone said, but the club had delayed adding the valuable righty to the roster so it could continue to carry Blackburn — a righty stretched out enough to jump in the rotation or provide plenty of bullpen length when rested — and De los Santos, who was its only reliever option capable of taking down several innings Monday.
The Yankees could have kept De los Santos and Cruz if they designated Blackburn for assignment, but the club is trying to reserve a roster spot for the former Mets starter.
Blackburn, who threw 71 pitches over 3 ¹/₃ innings Saturday, essentially is rotation insurance for a team that does not yet have Ryan Yarbrough as an option.
The lefty is being stretched out as a starter and most recently threw 50 pitches Wednesday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Austin Slater (hamstring strain) fielded balls in right field before the game and is still a few weeks away from a return.
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