New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge faced doubts following reports of a right flexor strain. Matters became more tense when the Yankees decided to put him on the 10-day injured list on Sunday (July 27), which resulted in him missing his second game of the season (against the Philadelphia Phillies). Yankees manager Aaron Boone has now given an update on when Judge can be expected to return to the field and who will be filling the gap in his absence.
When will Aaron Judge recover and return to play?
As per what a source claimed to ESPN, the Yankees are not considering having Judge play first base upon his return from the injured list. He will instead be slotted as the designated hitter until he seems fine to throw from the outfield.
All this conjecture is based on the assumption that Judge will be returning to the field after his minimum 10-day absence. The team expects him to be back in the outfield in 10-14 days. Although playing first base would be easier on his injured arm, the team feels this would be a difficult professional transition for him to make midseason.
“We’re going up against a Phillies team, they can hit the ball over the park. I just didn’t want to put our pitchers in jeopardy, just not be able to come up and make a play for them,” Judge told Boone on Friday after admitting he had “trouble throwing past 60 feet,” per FOX.
{{/usCountry}}“We’re going up against a Phillies team, they can hit the ball over the park. I just didn’t want to put our pitchers in jeopardy, just not be able to come up and make a play for them,” Judge told Boone on Friday after admitting he had “trouble throwing past 60 feet,” per FOX.
{{/usCountry}}Since the MRI did not show any severe damage to his ulnar collateral ligament, the chances of Judge’s recovery period being extended run low.
Who will fill the gap?
Since Judge will be stepping into the shoes of a designated hitter upon his return, the weight of playing in the outfield has now fallen on Giancarlo Stanton in his absence.
“There's the feeling that if he just DH'd now, that he probably would not compromise his UCL,” Boone said, as reported by ESPN. “Throwing would. That said, there is a gripping component to it and it's probably, obviously, not like the defensive side, but probably somewhat affecting him offensively, too.”
“And then there's the [Giancarlo] component, too. So I think, when you add it all up, this makes the most sense to give this time to calm down a little bit, hopefully heal, and then hopefully put us in a better position long term on it.” Over the weekend, the Yankees added Amed Rosario from the Washington Nationals to their roster.
By Stuti Gupta