Breaking news: Aaron Judge shields a weak teammate from justified criticism.

Aaron Judge is making every effort to keep one of his underperforming teammates out of the spotlight.

As the captain of the New York Yankees, Aaron Judge is a player who does not take his position lightly. In the middle of his own historic offensive effort, he is taking the time to halt and protect Oswald Peraza for that very reason. For the tall outfielder, being the team’s captain is more than just a catchphrase.

Not every player on the team is performing at their best, but manager Aaron Boone’s team has gone on a hot streak to gain a six-game lead in the AL East rankings. The fact that Peraza has been a hindrance to the team’s attacking output cannot be avoided. Through 76 at-bats, he has scuffled his way to a batting average of.158.

Peraza has been almost unplayable thus far, but no one in the organization anticipated him to be an offensive superstar. With little regard for what he could be capable of doing with the bat in his hands, opposing pitchers frequently target him in the strike zone. Peraza’s individual shortcomings have only been brought to light by the exceptional output of others in Boone’s batting order surrounding him.

Judge has thus made a determined effort to support the versatile infielder. He recently told the New York media that if Peraza was given the chance to play every day, “good things” will happen to him. For a player who hasn’t demonstrated much, if any, offensive growth in recent weeks, that’s a bright future.

When Jazz Chisholm returns from injury in the upcoming weeks, Peraza’s playing time is expected to decrease. Right now, there isn’t a compelling reason to start Peraza above any player on the squad. His weakness at the plate is too great to warrant significant playing time.

Right now, Peraza’s glove is the sole strong point of his game. Growing up in New York’s minor league system, it was his defining characteristic. This season, he has been consistently above average on defense. If the rest of Boone’s infield recovers, that might not be enough to keep him on the Yankees’ roster. It’s a wonderful benefit to play defense at several infield positions, but Peraza won’t get anything out of it if he can’t put up offensive productivity that is on par with the league.

Judge is astute enough to anticipate his teammate’s next move. The experienced skipper made a smart move by trying to give him some confidence. Judge would appear to be a brave captain who knows when to support his suffering player if it helps Peraza.

Aaron Judge is performing the duties of a captain.
Judge will still be remembered as a kind leader who did all in his power to assist an overmatched colleague succeed in spite of his lack of major league skill, even if Peraza fails and is eventually released. For a Yankee skipper who understands how the New York media can be influenced, it’s a win-win scenario.