Judge eyes Yankees’ opener
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge took batting practice for the first time since left shoulder surgery and said he is on track to play on Opening Day.
Judge hit a rookie-record 52 home runs last year and was a unanimous pick for AL Rookie of the Year. The right fielder said the shoulder started to bother him around the All-Star break but he did not have any injections of painkillers.
“My main goal is to be ready for opening day and we’re on schedule for that,” Judge said.
Judge finished second to Houston infielder Jose Altuve in the AL MVP race. He was hitting .329 with 30 homers and 66 RBI at the AllStar break, then batted .179 with seven homers and 16 RBI with 67 strikeouts in his next 44 games through the end of August.
Judge is a centerpiece of the Yankees batting order with catcher Gary Sanchez, a lineup boosted by a trade for outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, the major league home run champion.
Scout kicked out of camp
As teams started spring training workouts across Florida and Arizona, the players’ association had a Kansas City Royals scout escorted out of the union’s opening training session for unsigned free agents.
About 15 players attended the first day of workouts yesterday at the union’s camp in Bradenton, Fla. Media was barred from the IMG Academy. The scout was told he was not welcome but could set up a session with an individual player.
More than 90 players remain without agreements among the 166 who exercised their free-agency rights last November, the most sluggish market since the final offseason of collusion in 1987-88.
Garcia beats White Sox
Chicago White Sox All-Star outfielder Avisail Garcia won his salary arbitration case against the team and will get a raise to $6.7 million instead of the club’s $5.85 million offer. Players lead 8-6 with five decisions to be announced today . . . .
Pitcher Bud Norris and the St. Louis Cardinals finalized a $3 million, one-year contract . . . .
Catcher Chris Stewart agreed to $575,000, one-year contract with the Atlanta Braves . . . .
Dave Stewart is back with the Oakland Athletics as a spring training pitching instructor.