To win without Aaron Judge, the Yankees do not need another slugger. They simply need a bullpen

Yesterday, to finally beat no-name Cleveland, leaders of the disgraceful AL Central, Aaron Boone used up his entire so-called Circle of Trust. That is...

Brent Headrick, one inning, no runs
Fernando Cruz, one inning, no runs
David Bednar, one inning, no runs.

Altogether, no hits, the first seamless bullpen outing since - well - weeks, months? It was not exactly Quan-Go-Mo, Michael Kay's ill-fated, 2004 attempt to link Paul Quantrill and Tom Gordon to the great Mariano. But for this particular bullpen, a scoreless three is found money. 

The Yankees won their first game without Aaron Judge as an option. Throughout the day, the lack of an announcement from Yankee Central Command provoked growing alarm from Suzyn Waldman. You could feel her distress rising, as the silence grew louder. 

We might not see Judge again until August. It sucks. But the Yankees do not need a replacement slugger. What they need now is still what they needed last week: A decent MLB bullpen. 

Tonight, against Boston - a team that hates us the way Hall hates Oates - Boone will be back to stems and seeds, aka Camilo Doval and Jake Bird. Both have been rampant disappointments since the day last July when they were acquired. Neither shows signs of hope. Tonight, the Yankees will start Ryan Weathers, probably leaving Boone with a three-inning hole to fill. Having used the entire Circle of Trust yesterday, only God knows how the Yankees will navigate those final three innings. We better score nine runs.

The Yankees will face Sonny Gray, another of Cooperstown Cashman's two-way trade debacles, coming and going. (To get him, they traded three prospects, including James Kaprelian and Jorge Mateo. To get rid of him, they added Reiver Sanmartin to a package that brought back Shed Long Jr.) Not only did Gray spit the bit as a Yankee, but then he went elsewhere and succeeded. And tonight he faces us in the Stadium. 

The Yankees cannot trade their way out of missing Judge. It's time to see what Spencer Jones and Jasson Dominguez can do. Both have run their courses at Triple A. Let's see what we have.  

It's almost the same in the bullpen. Why trade for another Doval, another Bird? Two days ago, in Scranton, the Yankees shifted Carlos LeGrange - the breakout pitcher in spring training - to the bullpen. In March, LeGrange looked incredible - until he didn't. He threw 16 innings with an ERA of 4.95. But he reached 102 mph on the radar toy. On a one-inning basis, if he can throw strikes, he could be formidable.  

Another guy in Scranton, Yovanny Cruz, 26, seemed to find a new fastball in May. Last night, he gave up an earned run in 1.1 innings, with 2 Ks, against the Syracuse Mets. Dunno what we've got.

But without Judge, the Yankees must change their ways. They are no longer a HR-hitting factory. They need to nickel-and-dime. They need to steal bases, move runners, clip coupons. And somehow, they need to find a bullpen.