NO RULING FOR JUDGE
Slugger still having tests on ailing shoulder as Yankees hope for the best
TAMPA — Aaron Judge walked back into George M. Steinbrenner Field around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday night. The slugger carried a manila folder in his hands, which the Yankees have top hope will finally have some answer about what ails Judge.
Again Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone said they have yet to have a diagnosis and plan for Judge’s shoulder/pectoral discomfort issue.
“I’ve got nothing for you. Hopefully we’re getting to it, or where we’ll have an update for you but for now I got nothing,” Boone said.
The Yankees manager said that Judge was undergoing tests for the third straight day. Cashman said he is not sure if they are done with tests.
“When they tell me they’re done. Sorry. But hopefully sooner than later,” the GM said. “He’s obviously going through a series of tests. It’s not like one or two, it’s a number approaching seven to 10 total. So they can make sure they have a full evaluation and determine what ails him, and when they’re complete we’ll either be able to tell you we’re in the clear or we’ll be able to tell you that we have a full diagnosis and the timeframe and everything else like that.”
Cashman went on WFAN on Tuesday and said that they are optimistic that this will not result in surgery.
“I was optimistic yesterday because of how he’s feeling, so I’m not gonna repeat anything further than what I said yesterday until they get everything done,” Cashman said. “There’s nothing more to say.”
Boone said he has remained optimistic, because he isn’t a glass-half-empty guy.
“I guess I am just not wired that way,” Boone said. “When we know exactly what’s going on, we’ll put the right course of action in place and go and deal with it.”
For his part, Judge said “Yup,” when asked in passing if he was going to be OK.
Right now, Cashman said he did not see the opportunity or perhaps the need to go out and make a deal for an outfielder. With Aaron Hicks out until “midseason,” after October Tommy John surgery, the Yankees have Brett Gardner, Mike Tauchman, Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar as healthy major league outfielders on their 40-man roster.
The slugger was shut down in late January or early February with what they said was “right shoulder soreness,” he felt while ramping up. The MRI he had in New York before he was shut down from hitting and throwing showed now significant changes from his previous exams on that shoulder.
Judge began ramping up during the last couple of weeks. He was throwing at 120 feet and had hit off a tee and was ramping up to hitting off a coach throwing batting practice when he felt discomfort in his right pectoral muscle area.
Having yet to hit on a field this spring, Cashman said it was unlikely that Judge would be ready three weeks from today when the Yankees open the season in Baltimore. Having missed significant time the last two years, Boone admitted there is some frustration there.
“It’s been hard just not getting that conclusion . ... I feel like we’re getting close to that and we’ll probably have some hopefully in the next day or so,” Boone said. “But, for Aaron it’s been frustrating. But like for all of us you know we want, we want to get to the bottom and get answers you know we need to do for him.”