New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is banged-up once again after missing significant time with injuries each of the last two seasons.
New York Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge missed batting practice Tuesday with what George King of The New York Post called a “minor right shoulder problem.”
Judge not in BP group due to a minor right shoulder problem. Aaron Boone said test didn’t unearth anything serious
— George A. King III (@GeorgeAKingIII) February 18, 2020
Manager Aaron Boone stated the former AL Rookie of the Year is dealing with “crankiness” and “a little soreness” in the shoulder. Still, the Yankees have already ruled Judge out for Saturday’s first spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
“I don’t anticipate it delaying the season, but he won’t be playing on Feb. 22,” Boone said. “But hopefully not much behind that.”
Bryan Hoch of MLB.com also noted that while Judge did not take batting practice, he participated in outfield drills. Boone also noted Judge had been shut down from hitting for the past week, but increased activities should happen “probably in the next couple days.”
Just the same, Judge’s recent history will have some fans skittish ahead of the 2020 season. The big outfielder missed two months with an oblique strain last season. In 2018, a chip fracture in his wrist kept him out for almost the same amount of time.
The good news is the Yankees seem fully aware of what’s going on with Judge. They know how important his bat is to the lineup and don’t want to risk losing him for an extended period of time. If this means Judge misses the first spring training game or two, so be it.