HIM OUT! hope to be ready, despite no injury answers

figure out what is going on.”

Until then, Judge will not be able to start his baseball activities, but he said that they have not yet crossed the threshold where he would rule himself out for the March 26 opener in Baltimore. Tuesday, Brian Cashman said it was unlikely Judge would be able to get ready in time.

“You only need about 30 at-bats to get ready for the season. You know, I got plenty of time for that,” Judge said. “But we’ve got to get answers first.”

The 27-year-old outfielder had initially been shut down in early February with the shoulder issue after being sent back to New York for an MRI and exam with team doctors. At the time, Boone said the MRI showed no change in the shoulder, explaining that there was some unspecified issue apparent on the MRI in the shoulder dating back to when Judge was drafted.

Whatever the ailment is, it started bugging Judge when he showed up here to begin working out and has not allowed him a normal ramp-up of hitting and throwing. He had begun a slow ramp-up, playing catch at 60, 90 and 120 feet while hitting off a tee and soft toss. When he went to hit off a coach in the cages, he again felt the discomfort.

Judge described the issue as migrating from his shoulder to chest and back, which has been part of the issue of diagnosing it.

“It’s a combination … sometimes one day I’ll wake up and chest is feeling good then next day, shoulders feeling bad,” Judge explained. “It’s just kind of back and forth right now. “

In his three previous big league seasons, the 27-yearold has never had two healthy or strong halves.

After hitting .329 with 30 homers in 84 games in the first half of 2017, Judge went to the All-Star Game and won the Home Run Derby, then immediately began to struggle. He was 1-for-21 in his first five games following the AllStar break and in his first 55 hit .185 with 11 homers and 84 strikeouts from July 14 to Sept. 12.

It was not until the next spring he admitted a shoulder injury that required offseason surgery had affected him.

In 2018, Judge lost most of the second half of the season to a fractured wrist. After hitting 25 homers and driving in 60 runs in the first 93 games of the season, he only played in 19 in the second half. He hit two homers and drove in seven runs.

In 2019, Judge missed 54 games after straining his oblique in April.

He’s frustrated by the time he has missed.

“It’s tough,” Judge said. “I am pretty frustrated with it. I want to be out there with my team supporting them, being on the field and battling with them. Hopefully that’s why we’re talking to a lot of doctors, trying to get some answers.”