John LeeESPN4 minutes to read
Aaron Judge exits the bout with a right groin discomfort
Aaron Judge appears shaky after a knockout in the second period and exits the game in the fourth due to an uncomfortable right thigh.
Judge dealt with a mild right groin strain, an injury the Yankees were patient with. IL moved retroactively to Friday, when the star player lost time for the first time. He is eligible for activation in the May 8 series opener against the Oakland Athletics. To replace Judge, the Yankees called up outfielder Franchi Cordero.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the team wanted to maintain a big-picture mentality when considering Judge’s health this season.
“We don’t want to put him in a situation where he goes out and waivers somewhere else and the injury becomes something else or worse,” Boone said. “This is the biggest thing.”
Al-Qadi underwent an MRI on his hip after feeling “constipated” on Thursday. He has not participated in any baseball activities since his removal from Thursday’s game.
The injury stems from Wednesday, when a judge slid awkwardly into third base while attempting a steal against the Minnesota Twins. The slide caused concern within the Yankees due to Judge’s $360 million contract, with Boone urging the outfielder to slide foot-first.
Because Judge relied on his hips to generate his stroke, the team wanted to be careful in managing this injury.
“I think Aaron is a realist, too,” Boone said. “He understands what’s at stake and that it’s important, so we’re having real conversations. I don’t want to slam the door. If he’s ready to play in a couple of days, so be it. But we also want to understand where we are in the season, whatever the remaining 130 games are, and obviously how much.” It matters. We want to make sure we’re in a good place there.”
Through 26 games this season, Judge has hit .261/.352/.511 with six homers, 14 RBIs and a 0.9 WAR.
Judge, a four-time All-Star and American League Most Valuable Player Award winner, is on the injured list for the seventh time since making his debut in 2016. He stayed healthy last year and hit a record 62 home runs, hitting .311 with 131. In RBIs, Pete Alonso tied the New York Mets for the major league lead.
Judge has missed 156 games on the injured list since 2016: Last 18 in 2016 with a strained right oblique, 45 in 2018 with a broken right wrist after being hit by a pitch from Jacob Gunness of the Kansas City Royals, 54 in 2019. With oblique Strained left, two periods totaling 30 games in 2020 with a strained right calf and nine games in 2021 on COVID IL.
There could be reinforcements out of the field soon for the injury-plagued Yankees. Boone said outfielder Harrison Bader (a tense left oblique) could return before this weekend’s series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
But the Yankees also got some bullpen bad news Monday, as they locked down reliever Jonathan Loaisiga for three to six weeks so he could undergo surgery on Tuesday to remove a bone spur.
While Loaisiga has been at IL since April 8 with a sore elbow, a visit to team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad revealed a more serious injury.
“It didn’t bother him while he was throwing up the food, and then he came in and experienced swelling, which they think is related to that urge,” Boone said. “So they have to get that out of there.”
Information from the Associated Press is used in this report.
“Typical food guru. Problem solver. Devoted beer practitioner. Professional reader. Baconaholic.”