Aaron Judge casually reveals toe injury was way more severe than Yankees claimed
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To say the New York Yankees have been spinning their tires over the last few weeks has been a huge understatement, as the loss of Aaron Judge has taken them from a team with eyes on the postseason to a laughable squad that can barely manage to string some hits together.
Losing arguably the best player in baseball was always going to have an impact on this roster, but the fact that New York has hit below .200 for the month of June is an indictment of the rest of the roster. Unless Judge is raking, they look lifeless.
Yankees fans and those around the team have placated themselves by saying that Judge will be back relatively soon. Unfortunately, because every Yankees injury is worse than initially reported, Judge sounds no closer to making a return to the squad.
Judge revealed he tore a ligament in his toe, which contradicted the team's official stance that stated it was a sprain. Judge has also said he is in pain when he walks, which can't be what fans and the rest of the organization wanted to hear from the $36 million per year man in the outfield.
For the first time, Aaron Judge told reporters he tore a ligament in his toe. Previously, the team just said it was a sprain. Judge also said he still has pain while he walks.
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) June 24, 2023
Yankees' Aaron Judge has torn toe ligament.
Judge was leading the American League in home runs when he got hurt, all while playing solid defense and occasionally flirting with a .300 average. Since he got hurt, the Yankees' offense has been so deplorable that it is a miracle when they manage to put five or six hits together.
Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson both look lost at the plate, while Anthony Rizzo and DJ LeMahieu remain mired in very difficult slumps. Anthony Volpe is looking overmatched quite regularly, and the shine is starting to come off replacement outfielders like Willie Calhoun.
If this continues, it is not unreasonable to assume the Yankees will fall out of the postseason picture. With the AL as deep as it has been in years and the starting rotation outside of Gerrit Cole doing little to inspire confidence, the Yankees are leaking coolant at an alarming rate without No. 99.
The @MLBNetwork research team bringing some smoke today:
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) June 23, 2023
Aaron Judge last appeared on June 3. In 15 games since then (6-9 team record), no Yankee has more than five RBIs!
The Yankees' slide is not going to stop barring either an immense reversal of fortune or Judge getting back on the field as soon as possible. Based on how far away it appears Judge is from returning to action, the prospects for a quick Yankee turnaround are looking fairly glum right now.