Yankees’ Judge goes under knife

The New York Yankees say slugger Aaron Judge had arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder and is expected to be ready for spring training. The operation was performed Monday in Los Angeles. The Yankees say the procedure involved a loose-body removal and cartilage cleanup.

The 25-year-old Judge hit .284 with 52 homers and 114 RBIs in 155 games this season, helping New York make it to the AL Championship Series, where they lost to the eventual World Series champion Astros. He was a unanimous selection for AL Rookie of the Year and finished second to Houston infielder Jose Altuve in the AL MVP race. MORGAN TAKES HARD LINE ON STEROIDS >> Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan is urging voters to keep “known steroid users” out of Cooperstown. A day after the Hall revealed its 33-man ballot for the 2018 class, the 74-year-old Morgan argued against the inclusion of players implicated during baseball’s steroid era in a letter to voters with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. “Steroid users don’t belong here,” Morgan wrote. “What they did shouldn’t be accepted.”

MLB COMES DOWN HARD ON BRAVES >> The Braves lost 13 prospects and former general manager John Coppolella was banned for life by Major League Baseball for circumventing international signing rules from 2015-17. Former Atlanta special assistant Gordon Blakeley, who was the team’s international scouting chief, was suspended from baseball for one year by commissioner Rob Manfred. Sanctions imposed by Manfred will leave the Braves unable to bargain at full strength for a top Latin American prospect until 2021. Manfred said MLB’s investigation determined the Braves moved international signing bonus pool money from one player to boost another player’s contract. Most notable among the players the Braves will lose is Kevin Maitan, an infielder from Venezuela who signed for $4.25 million in 2016.

Soccer

AUSSIE COACH QUITS BEFORE WORLD CUP >> Ange Postecoglou has quit as Australia coach a week after the Socceroos secured a spot at next year’s World Cup with an intercontinental win over Honduras. Speculation about Postecoglou’s future has increased since a newspaper report in the wake of Australia’s Asian playoff win over Syria last month suggested he would not take the team to Russia regardless of what happened against Honduras.