Stanton and Judge: Over the long term, can the Yankees keep two injury magnets?

Damn... this was going to be THE YEAR for Aaron Judge. 

This would be his MVP season, his Triple Crown threat, his Silver Slugger bat and Golden Glove trophy - maybe even his ring. He'd ride the largest float in the Canyon of Heroes. Next spring, as baseball emerges from the pandemic - (fingers crossed) - he would stand not only as the game's biggest name, but perhaps the brightest star in American sports. At age 28, this would be his peak. 

And, damn, it was happening... 

Over 20 games, a third of this truncated season, he'd blasted nine homers. Projected over a full 162-game year, he'd hit 72 HRs, a ridiculous number. Truthfully, he was never going to stay that hot. But still, this looked like his year.

And now... well, fukkit! By now, I'm sure you all know he's out - again. This time, it's a tweaked calf. Officially, he'll miss a week. But that's a joke. If history is any measure, figure him out until September - another Judgian season sabotaged by muscles too large, tendons too stretched, a rubber band physique perpetually fraying. As he ages, it's probably not going to get better.

Since his rookie season - age 25, when he played 155 games - the line on Judge's durability has drifted steadily downhill. In 2018, he notched 112 games. Last year, 102. This year, he was going to miss the first three months with a rib fracture, before they were wiped out by COVID. It wasn't certain that he'd make the July opener. His homer spree became the feel-good story of baseball's opening week. Now, we are back to normalcy, which means No. 99 on the shelf. 

Normalcy... damn. In a normal universe, Judge's future as a Yankee would be carved into stone. He is the Face of the Franchise. He bats second. He covers right field. He kisses babies. If you want to be critical, his lone flaw as a player and a person is that ability to stay healthy. But as lone flaws go, it's a humdinger. 

And we already have a star who does not play. His name is Giancarlo. We have him until 2028, at $25 million per season, long after his muscles will be withered and his bat will be in splinters. 

Can we afford two OF-DHs, at about $50 million per year, who play in a handful of games? Maybe in the pre-COVID world, the Yankees could go there. Now, I'm not so sure.

But there is one hope. I never thought I'd write these words, but we have a lot of baseball yet to play in 2020. There remains a solid narrative that could inscribe Judge into the city's concrete culture.

With or without Judge, the Yankees remain a contender in the AL East, if not the team to beat. Six weeks from now, they will almost surely start the playoffs. Barring a setback - and yes, we are in the Ellsburian Age of players who get hurt during rehab - Judge should be back by then. 

If he leads the Yankees to a championship, even in this dry cough of a season, Judge could cement his legacy in Gotham. (The Yankee brand is desperate for a ring.) But if things go south - if we botch a three-game series or run into a super-heated team of destiny - the brain trust may start viewing Judge as Boston did its own superstar outfielder. 

It's likely that someday, Mookie Betts will enter the Hall of Fame as a Dodger. Look down the road, and maybe Judge will be there too, but not necessarily in the jersey we want. And when we look back, we will say it all went sideways in the middle of that wretched pandemic season. Damn...