Aaron Judge Injury Update: Yankees slugger shut down for one week following MRI, hopeful for Opening Day start
Aaron Judge was reportedly "mid-spring beat up" yesterday, which has now turned into an upcoming MRI on his abs. He had been struggling a bit and not playing as much and will now undergo a prodecure to see what exactly is going on.
There isn't a ton of concern, even if Aaron Judge isn't expected to swing a bat for a little while. He's taking a little break, believing there's no need to push things too far when it's just Spring Training.
New York Yankees beat reporter Hoch reported on X, formerly known as Twitter:
"Aaron Judge says he underwent an MRI on his abs yesterday. He said that he will not swing a bat again until later in the week. Said 'there’s no real need to push it,' and his goal is to play Opening Day."
Judge aims to play on Opening Day and doesn't believe this minor setback will cost him that status. They're doing the MRI to find out if there's anything wrong, but he anticipates being back swinging sooner rather than later.
Aaron Judge not expecting to miss time with injury update
Aaron Judge has suffered quite a few injuries over the years. He has been banged up quite often, and the team has learned to exert caution with him. That appears to be what they're doing now.
Judge was out of the lineup because he needed a little extra rest and since it's Spring Training, there's no need to force him into the lineup. Now, they're going to be overly cautious and give him an extended break and check to see what's ailing him.
He is still confident that he will be on the field for Opening Day, which is good news. Gerrit Cole's status is up in the air for that game, and the Yankees need all hands on deck right now.
Judge is their leader and their best player, although Juan Soto has been excellent, so they can ill-afford another extended absence by the superstar. Fortunately, that shouldn't be the case. He said:
“We ran tests and everything came back good. It’s just what I told them, I was a little banged up and needed a couple of days. Hopefully we’ll get back out there soon.”
Judge should be back and better sooner rather than later.