Aaron Judge talked to reporters on Friday about the stress fracture in his right rib that is expected to sideline him for at least four to six weeks, after which he’ll be re-evaluated by team doctors.
Judge believes he sustained the injury on April 27 while diving for a ball against the Texas Rangers. He actually batted 3-for-3 in that game, hitting his 11th home run of the season.
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The New York Yankees star added that he likely made the injury worse when hitting the right-field wall while making a catch on a deep drive by the Baltimore Orioles’ Taylor Ward on May 3.
Judge can be seen wincing in pain after making the play and getting back to his feet. But it wasn’t known that he was already dealing with a rib injury that was probably affecting his shoulder as well.
Going by Judge’s recount of events, that means he played the entire month of May with the fractured rib, constituting a span of 30 games. In May, the three-time AL MVP registered a .243/.368/.437 slash average with five homers, five doubles and 18 RBI. Since May 11, he’s had a .206 batting average with one home run, eight RBI and 19 strikeouts.
According to Judge, the pain became so uncomfortable during the Yankees’ series at Sacramento last weekend that he stopped taking swings in pregame preparations. The injury was also affecting him during the games. Judge batted 2-for-12 (.167) in the three games versus the Athletics with four RBI and no extra-base hits.
Though the Yankees said Judge would be re-evaluated in four to six weeks, he declined to put a timetable on his recovery and return.
“I don’t like talking timetables,” he said, via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “That stuff’s all made up.”
Asked why he didn’t speak up about his injury sooner and sit out to recover, Judge mentioned the players already on the IL, including designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton and pitcher Max Fried.
“Big G’s hurt, Max Fried’s hurt,” Judge said. “We had a lot of guys banged up. You’ve got to be out there. That’s what they’re paying me to do, to go out there and play.”
The Yankees go into this weekend’s three-game series with the Boston Red Sox at 37-25, a half-game behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East and the best record in the American League.
Spencer Jones was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Judge’s spot on the Yankees’ roster. Ranked as the organization’s No. 6 prospect by MLB.com, Jones batted .167/.259/.167 in a 10-game stint earlier this season. At Triple-A, he compiled a .269/.378/.571 slash average with 12 homers and 48 RBI.
The Yankees also announced that outfielder Jasson Domínguez would begin a rehab assignment with Scranton’Wilkes-Barre on Friday.
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