Sore subject is haunting Judge again
Aaron Judge’s health is already a concern. The Yankees right fielder was held out of Wednesday’s 4-3, 11-inning loss to the Orioles with what Aaron Boone called “general soreness in his [left] side”
The manager said it was not an oblique injury and that because Thursday is an off-day for the Yankees, “I don’t want to take any chances.”
Boone later said he wasn’t going to play Judge in any situation Wednesday, and it was “too early” to say whether he would be available for Friday’s game at the Rays.
It’s the latest injury battle for the slugger, who has missed time with rib and oblique injuries in recent years and it comes less than a week into the regular season.
Boone said Judge was sore during Tuesday’s game, when he appeared uncomfortable both in right field and running the bases, as well as afterward. He looked just fine at the plate, though, hitting his second homer in as many days.
The way Judge swung the bat gave Boone confidence that it’s not a serious injury.
Boone said no tests were scheduled, but added he wouldn’t rule anything out.
He didn’t specify a play on which Judge might have suffered the injury, instead citing “general wear and tear of the first several days” of the regular season.
Boone did point to Judge’s game at DH on Sunday, when he took “a lot of swings.”
“Hopefully [the days off] will be good, slower days for him,’’ Boone said.
It’s at least somewhat disconcerting that Judge is already dealing with an injury after a full offseason working under the guidance of Eric Cressey, the director of player health and performance. Cressey was hired in part to deal with the Yankees’ problem of frequently losing both Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to various injuries.
Asked if the team needed to monitor Judge’s routine during DH days to reduce the number of swings and other aspects of his routine, Boone said: “We’re all very mindful of all that stuff and making sure we’re doing everything possible, from a workout standpoint to getting ready for games with a lot of reps. They’re all things we’re trying, along with them, to try stay out [ahead of injuries] as best we can.”
Judge, who will turn 29 this month, also collided with the wall down the right field line on Opening Day, although Boone didn’t think the soreness was a result of that, since he believed the soreness wasn’t “a real issue” until Tuesday.
This also comes with the Yankees about to start a series at Tampa Bay on Friday. Judge has suffered leg injuries from playing on the turf at Tropicana Field.
And it comes on the heels of Tuesday’s game, in which Judge didn’t dive for a ball in right field and didn’t seem to run aggressively on the bases. The 432-foot homer he hit in the eighth inning Tuesday eased some of those fears.
Judge spent time on the injured list last year with a calf strain and was placed on the IL with an oblique injury in 2019.
He was limited to 28 games last regular season and has yet to reach the heights he found during his breakout rookie season in 2017.