UPDATE: Aaron Judge will land on the IL with a flexor strain, but there’s no damage to his UCL per Aaron Boone.
The New York Yankees dropped last night’s series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies 12-5. Now, the team has more bad news heading into Saturday’s game as superstar Aaron Judge is out of the lineup.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Judge underwent imaging on his right elbow and will miss today’s matchup while waiting on imaging.
Per reporting from the Athletic’s Chris Kirschner, Judge was initially injured during Tuesday’s game in Toronto after fielding a ball in deep right field and throwing it in. He was seen grimacing in pain afterward but remained in the lineup at designated hitter on Wednesday before returning to right field on Friday. According to Statcast numbers cited in that same report, none of the star’s throws from the outfield exceeded 55 mph during that contest, so the injury made a noticeable impact on his play.
Judge is in the midst of another MVP-caliber season — he slashes .342/.449/.711 for a career-best 1.159 OPS with 129 hits, 90 runs, 85 RBIs and 37 home runs.
Cody Bellinger starts in the superstar’s place on Saturday. It’s safe to say he’ll continue to man the Yankees’ right field spot if Judge misses extended time.
This article will be updated when more details are made available.
