WATCH: Yankees prospect Aaron Judge shows off HR power

Joe Girardi on Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin

The Yankeesplan to release Alex Rodriguezafter his final game on Friday.

Perhaps that will finally clear the way for Aaron Judge to return to the majors.

Judge drilled his team-leading 18th home run of the season on Wednesday night, helping Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-BarreRailRiders beat the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 10-0.

It was the seventh straight win for Judge and the RailRiders.

A-Rod"s last game in Boston

Judge"s home run to center field came in the third inning. He also had an RBI single in the first innning, scoring Ben Gamel.

Rodriguez, 41, is expected to play the final game of his career against the Rays at Yankee Stadium on Friday. The Yankees will then release him from his contract but still pay him the $27 million he"s owed through 2017.

Rodriguez is then expected to sign a contract that will make A-Rod an adviser and instructor to the Yankees" minor leagues, reporting directly to owner Hal Steinbrenner, for all of next season.

Rodriguez has repeatedly said he"ll be at peace with the decision if the Yankees decide to cut him. Then they announced on Sunday at a press conference at Yankee Stadium a deal that help them go separate ways.

Rodriguez is hitting .203 with nine homers. He"s four bombs short of 700 for his career.

The Yankees have said they need to get younger and more athletic and Rodriguez doesn"t fit into that plan.

He"ll start at designated hitter on Thursday against the Red Soxin Fenway Park. Then on Friday he"ll start again, though manager Joe Girardihas said he might let Rodriguez play the field in that game.

(NJ Advance Media"s Brendan Kuty contributed to this report.)

Maria Guardado may be reached at mguardado@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @mi_guardado. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Source: http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2016/08/watch_yankees_prospect_aaron_judge_shows_off_hr_po.html