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New York Yankees RF Aaron Judge will be placed on the injured list due to a bruise and ligament strain in his right big toe. The Yankees had taken two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers before losing to the Chicago White Sox to open a series on Tuesday night.
Judge wasn’t in the lineup for the loss to Chicago and also missed the series finale vs. L.A. There had been reports Judge’s toe was getting better but a stint on the injured list was possible. This is the second time the reigning AL MVP will land on the injured list this season. He had missed the end of April and beginning May due to injury. Still, Judge has been raking again this season.
In 49 games in 2023, Judge has 19 HRs and 40 RBI while batting .291 with a 1.078 OPS. He is still on pace to crack 50 homers this season after reaching a record 62 last season while winning MVP. If this IL stint is relatively short, Judge should be able to return to the lineup around the second time the team will face the Boston Red Sox this season, a weekend series on June 16-18 on the road.
With Judge out again, the Yankees may be missing (somehow) OF Aaron Hicks, who was waived a few weeks ago and is now with the Baltimore Orioles. Hicks has been hitting the ball the past few games. With Harrison Bader also on the IL, the Yankees may need to place Giancarlo Stanton on left field a bit more than they’d like. Jake Bauers and Willie Calhoun should also see regular playing time along with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Oswaldo Cabrera.