MLB Rumors: Aaron Judge's Glances to Yankees Bench Believed to Be over Tipped Pitches

The Toronto Blue Jays believe they may have been tipping their pitches in Monday's 7-4 loss to the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.

That may have been why Yankees star Aaron Judge briefly looked toward the dugout during an at-bat in the eighth inning. The Blue Jays broadcasters drew attention toward his sideways glance as the game was unfolding.

The reigning American League MVP addressed the situation after the game.

"There was a lot of chirping from our dugout which I really didn't like in a situation where it was a 6-0 game," he told reporters. "When [manager Aaron Boone] got tossed, I was trying to save Boonie by calling timeout. Like 'hold up here.' So, I was trying to see who was chirping in the dugout."

Plenty of fans still haven't forgotten the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal from the 2017 season. In April 2022, Olney also reported the Yankees had been alerted by MLB to their use of technology to illegally steal signs from opposing teams. They received a $100,000 fine for those infractions.

Because of that, plenty of fans automatically expected the worst when the clip of Judge made the rounds on social media.

The most logical explanations are more benign, though.

The blame lays squarely at the feet of the Blue Jays if they were tipping their pitches to such a degree the Yankees could notice. It's not against MLB rules for New York coaches to communicate that to players from the dugout.

It's not like a Toronto pitcher giving up a long ball is a rare occurrence this season. Blue Jays pitchers are allowing 1.32 homers per nine innings, the eighth-highest average in MLB.

Maybe they've been tipping their pitches well before Monday night.