Yanks’ Judge has shoulder surgery

NEW YORK — Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is expected to be ready for spring training after arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder.

The operation was performed Monday by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. The Yankees say it 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.

Judge was hitting .329 with 30 homers and 66 RBIs at the All-Star break, then batted .179 with seven homers and 16 RBIs with 67 strikeouts in his next 44 games. He often was seen with packs of ice on his shoulder and it looked as if an injury might be preventing him from swinging freely, but the right fielder and manager Joe Girardi

repeatedly said his shoulder was fine. MLB, Japanese, union

reach posting deal: Major League Baseball, its players’ union and the Japanese commissioner’s office agreed Tuesday to a new posting system that could allow star pitcher-outfielder Shohei Ohtani to be put up for bid next week, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

The agreement is still not in writing and must be ratified by Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, the person said on condition of anonymity because no comments were authorized.

MLB owners are scheduled to vote for ratification on Dec. 1, and Ohtani is expected to be posted then or the following day, the person said. The deal calls for the negotiating period this offseason to be cut to 21 days from 30. The posting fee limit this offseason remains $20 million, and Ohtani’s club, the Pacific League’s Nippon Ham Fighters, is expected to seek the maximum for the 23-year-old.