The New York Yankees were getting MVP production from Aaron Judge before his injury. He could be back as soon as Saturday.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge may have been the best player in MLB before a quad strain landed him on the injured list. Leg injuries are always tricky. Recovery depends on the person, and it can be especially hard on bigger guys—Judge is 6-foot-7.
It looks like Judge is on pace to be back sooner rather than later. According to David Lennon of Newsday, the Yankees star was running sprints on Saturday and may return when eligible on Saturday against the New York Mets.
From what I can tell at this distance, Aaron Judge is doing some short-burst running drills in rightfield. Looks to be handling them OK. He’s eligible to come off the IL (calf strain) on Saturday. #Yankees
— David Lennon (@DPLennon) August 20, 2020
Judge, 28, has dealt with injuries in each of the last two years. He’s earned the unwanted moniker of being injury prone. Despite that, Judge is still considered one of the stars in MLB.
This has become a theme for Judge. He gets off to incredible starts, falls prey to injury, and comes crashing back to earth. In 2018, Judge was hitting .285/.398/.548 prior to a fractured wrist. Upon his return, he hit just .220/.333/.341. In 2019, he hit .288/.404/.521 before suffering an oblique strain. Upon returning Judge hit .269/.375/.544.
The drop wasn’t as serious in 2019, but the point remains. When Judge gets hurt it affects his game for the rest of the season. The 2020 season only has 60 games, the Yankees can’t afford for Judge to have to reacclimate after an injury. The Tampa Bay Rays are right on their heels in the AL East race and they aren’t going away anytime soon.
