Yankees: If Aaron Judge returns to injured list he shouldn’t talk to media about his health

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Aaron Judge might need to return to the injured list.

Shortly before Aaron Judge was placed on the injured list immediately following the New York Yankees‘ series against the Atlanta Braves in the Bronx a few weeks ago, he told the media that he was “day to day” and had requested to play but manager Aaron Boone opted against it.

Then he told reporters he was “adamant” about not going on the IL, and in the middle of his stint he claimed he was ready to go and felt “100%.” Then, the Yankees got an extra five days off when two players in the New York Mets organization tested positive for COVID-19. That should be enough time to heal, right?

Far from it. Judge didn’t play in the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader and was then pulled in the sixth inning of the second after his calf “tightened up.” Now, he could go back to the IL in what would be an incomprehensible blow to the Yankees.

After all of this, it’s clear the Yankees can’t have their star players talking to the media about their injuries. Judge, who has been injury-prone for three straight seasons now, can’t be butting heads with the team and medical staff over his status … only to be swiftly proven wrong the first day he returns to game action.

This isn’t Judge’s fault by any means, but there cannot openly be conflicting viewpoints on a topic like this, especially when it comes to someone who’s as injured as often as Judge. Regardless of the situation, the Yankees need to be cautious. The organization has no reason not to play Judge if he’s healthy.

Now, this will inevitably raise issues regarding his future with the Yankees. Yes, Judge is a superstar, but he cannot be paid like one if he’s not on the field. Since 2018, he’s played in just 232 games out of a possible 351. Though his broken wrist was a freak accident from a hit by pitch, the rest of his ailments have been indications that he’s unable to remain fully healthy.

If Judge is injured again, so be it. But don’t have him talk to the media about how healthy he is because that creates an inconsistent narrative that makes everybody look foolish … especially when he goes down with the same injury in his first six innings back in action.

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