The Bronx Bombers will be without their most valuable player as he heads to the injured list.
Aaron Judge, the New York baseball club’s premier power hitter and a frontrunner for the American League MVP award, was placed on the IL due to a flexor issue in his right elbow this Sunday. There is no damage to the ulnar collateral ligament.
“Overall, the reports were encouraging today,” said Yankees skipper Aaron Boone, as reported by The Associated Press. “I believe we were all anticipating worse news.”
The expectation is that Judge will be sidelined for roughly 10 days. When he is cleared to play, he will gradually return to the lineup as a designated hitter, according to Boone, while also beginning to throw before eventually taking his place in the outfield again. He will not switch to another position until he’s prepared to take his customary outfield role.
Judge was held out of Saturday’s 9-4 defeat against the Philadelphia Phillies because of an “elbow problem,” as described by manager Aaron Boone beforehand. Boone also noted that Judge “was having difficulty throwing from the outfield” and underwent an MRI scan.
The exact moment when Judge first sustained the injury remains unclear. Viewers observed Judge wincing and clutching his right hand following a throw during Tuesday night’s victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. The following day, he did not play right field but served as designated hitter. Boone stated the slugger was “fine.”
Since the aforementioned Tuesday, Judge has gone 1 for 10 at the plate; the only hit was a solo shot in an 8-4 loss to the Blue Jays on Wednesday. Saturday’s contest marked his first missed game of the entire season.
Judge is currently engaged in an AL MVP battle with Seattle Mariners star catcher Cal Raleigh. Across 103 games, Judge is the major league leader in batting average (.342), on-base percentage (.449), slugging percentage (.711), and on-base plus slugging percentage (1.160). Raleigh is the major league leader in home runs (39) and went into Saturday trailing Judge’s 84 RBI by one.
The Yankees will wrap up a three-game series with the Phillies this Sunday afternoon and conclude their homestand with four games against the Tampa Bay Rays. Afterwards, they will embark on a road trip to face the Miami Marlins and Texas Rangers.
Now with Judge unavailable, Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced that the team will begin working with Giancarlo Stanton in the outfield this week so he can be a possible option there in the interim. Stanton, who made his season debut earlier this month following his own elbow ailments, has served as the team’s designated hitter. He last played in the outfield back in 2023.
“There’s a feeling that if he simply DH’d, that he probably wouldn’t put his UCL at risk,” Boone conveyed, via ESPN. “Evidently, throwing would. That being said, there is a gripping element to it and it’s likely, obviously, not quite like the defensive side, but potentially somewhat impacting him offensively, too.
“And there’s also the [Giancarlo] aspect, as well. So I think, when all things are considered, this makes the most sense to allow this time to calm down slightly, hopefully heal, and then hopefully position us better long-term on it.”
How will general manager Brian Cashman address the absence of Judge? The MLB trade deadline is July 31, and the Yankees are currently six games behind the Blue Jays for the AL East division lead and have lost five of their last eight games since the All-Star break.
One player who will not be brought up to fill Judge’s spot is outfielder prospect Spencer Jones, who has been among the most effective hitters in the minor leagues this season. Despite an impressive 1.116 OPS at both Double-A and Triple-A, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports Jones will not be summoned.
That would understandably spark trade deadline speculation around Jones, who is regarded as a valuable asset for the Yankees, but Heyman adds Jones isn’t going anywhere unless the return offer is truly exceptional. There is considerable excitement surrounding Jones due to his performance in the minors, although prospect analysts have raised concerns regarding contact rates, which have resulted in a 31.1% strikeout rate this year.
