The Yankees shouldn’t expect Aaron Judge back any time soon. Yesterday, Brian Cashman told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that early assessments proved overly optimistic. “That was a mistake, one [Doctor Chris Ahmad] has self-admitted to,” Cashman explained. “In fairness to Aaron, four to six weeks is typical. Usually, we don’t over-promise. In this case, we missed on the timeline. It is unfair to the player. The optimism and the timeline were inaccurate.”

The club clearly needs reinforcements, but who? Management doesn’t seem enamored with the available waiver-wire options. The luxury tax threshold also remains an obstacle. With these roadblocks in place, Cashman and his crew will have to get creative to fill the void. I decided to offer some unsolicited advice on the matter.

Use CC as the DH

CC Sabathia can swing a bat with the best of them. Think that’s an exaggeration? Well, of course it is. He’s a career .212/.225/.314 batter with three home runs. That’s not particularly good, even for a pitcher. The Yankees can’t be picky, however, and Sabathia offers an in-house solution.

Need more convincing? Consider this long ball he slugged way back in 2005.

Now that’s an aesthetically pleasing home run, even if it’s 13 years old.

Thanks to Shohei Ohtani, precedent exits for two-way players now. Employing Sabathia as the designated hitter allows a healthy Giancarlo Stanton to move to right field, thus ending the Shane Robinson experiment. There’s a lot to like here!

Sign Braun Strowman

The Yankees passed on an outfielder at the trade deadline for two interconnected reasons. First, Cashman didn’t want to acquire an outfielder who couldn’t be reduced to a bench role once Judge returned. Having eliminated those players from their radar, the Yankees then didn’t like the price tag on the remaining bats.

What if I told you there was a slugger who could hit bombs and would step aside upon Judge’s activation? He would also intimidate opposing pitchers in a way that few others could. The only problem is that he’s not exactly a baseball player.

Enter WWE superstar Braun Strowman.

The Monster Among Men checks all the boxes. At 6’8” and 385 pounds, he is the perfect substitute for Judge when it comes to giant sluggers. He can rake, too, as evidenced by his Instagram page.

Strowman also already has his pinstripes ready, as he toured Yankee Stadium last August while promoting SummerSlam.

Champions deserve championship belts. WWE stars stopped by to award Aaron his belt for the HR Derby. pic.twitter.com/45CKoLvLAl — New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 15, 2017

The Yankees can plug Strowman into the lineup, let him swat a few dingers, and watch other teams cower in fear. When Judge gets back, no big deal. Strowman has no shortage of opponents waiting for him in the WWE.

I love this idea! I just don’t want to tell him about the Yankees’ facial hair policy.

Coax Alex Rodriguez out of retirement

A-Rod has kept busy since retiring two years ago. He’s established himself as a preeminent baseball analyst, made a few guest appearances on Shark Tank, and developed A-Rod Corp. into whatever it is that it does.

While his bat looked slow in 2016, who’s to say a few years off wouldn’t be rejuvenating? I wonder what Rod’s up to this week.

Yeah, this reunion isn’t happening, is it?

Are these substitutes perfect? No, but they would sure be entertaining. How would you like the Yankees to temporarily replace Judge? Leave us your most creative solutions in the comment section!