Yankees manager Aaron Boone gave fans an update on Aaron Judge.
UPDATE: Judge is out of the lineup for Tuesday’s intrasquad game depsite partaking in baseball activities during practice.
Back under the lights in the Bronx: pic.twitter.com/DWswnV53zB
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 14, 2020
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Not too long after New York Yankees fans were hit with the Aroldis Chapman COVID-19 diagnosis, Aaron Judge was scratched from Saturday’s intrasquad game due to a stiff neck.
Though it wasn’t anything to be alarmed about, according to manager Aaron Boone at the time, Judge was scratched again on Sunday. Really? One night of sleeping on your neck the wrong way and you’re on the shelf for two days?
Well, now it could be three. Boone provided an update on Judge Monday afternoon, and while the slugger is practicing and hitting the weight room, it’s unclear if he’ll be ready to go for Tuesday night’s scrimmage.
Aaron Judge is "better today," according to Aaron Boone. He's in the weight room and was able to take swings in the batting cage.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) July 13, 2020
Boone said that he doesn't know if Judge will be in tomorrow's intrasquad game.
We told you this was something to worry about, regardless of what we were told. Any injury news surrounding Judge has fans biting their nails because of how severely limited he’s been since 2018. Though he’s slugged his way through limited time, we have yet to see that wire-to-wire MVP performance again — plus, his 2019 playoff showing was not good.
The delayed season provided one lone silver lining: Judge would be able to recover from his shoulder/lung/rib injuries that were expected to keep him out for the first 3+ months of 2020 and be ready to go for the 60-game campaign.
Now, could that be in question?
According to Boone, Aaron Judge (stiff neck) has increased range of motion, took swings & worked in weight room today, good signs, lineup return still TBD.
— Pete Caldera (@pcaldera) July 13, 2020
Club has an idea when Masahiro Tanaka (concussion protocol) can resume bullpens, but focused still on his daily progress.
Opening Day is 10 days away, so any hiccups in the meantime will delay his start to the DELAYED season, which we can’t believe we’re typing. Just 10 days ago, the Yankees were primed for an all-hands-on-deck beginning to the year, and since then Tanaka, Chapman and Judge have gone down in some capacity, in that order.
Perhaps this shred of concerning news will be followed up by the return of DJ LeMahieu? Please? No, seriously. Please.