Aaron Judge on return to Yankees' lineup: 'We'll take it day-to-day'
Yankees centerfielder Aaron Judge walks in the dugout before a spring training game against Atlanta on Sunday in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP/Charlie Neibergall
LAKELAND, Fla. — Aaron Boone said Thursday morning that the plan is for Aaron Judge to hit on Friday, and that if he does, the outfielder will start Saturday afternoon’s home game against the Blue Jays.
After a light workout at Steinbrenner Field on Thursday, Judge didn’t sound quite as optimistic.
“Yeah, he [Boone] said something about that [hitting], but we’ll take it day-to-day,” Judge told reporters in Tampa.
Judge went for an MRI on Monday on his abdominal muscles, which have been causing him discomfort. The imaging came back clean, but he has yet to swing a bat. Judge shagged during batting practice on Thursday but did not do much else outside. (It was not clear what kind of work he did inside, other than receiving treatment.)
“That’s the plan, but honestly, like I’ve told you guys before, we’re in no rush,” Judge said of playing Saturday. “In the season, I’m definitely in there right now, but our goal is March 28 [Opening Day in Houston].”
On the surface, it isn’t time to panic regarding Judge, whose toe injury in early June 2023 more or less torpedoed the Yankees’ season.
It varies, but veterans such as Judge generally don’t need the number of at-bats available during spring training. Derek Jeter, for instance, used to say spring training was seven to 10 days too long, something many hitters agree with. It lasts six weeks solely so starting pitchers can be built up.
That said, abdominal/core injuries can linger and it doesn’t take much to tweak them, the reason the Yankees and Judge are being cautious.
“Looks like he’s feeling good, looks like he’s moving around pretty good,” hitting coach James Rowson said. “I think he’s just making sure he talks to the medical staff and he’s adamant about getting it right.”
Said Judge: “It’s better to miss the time now [rather] than July, August when it really matters. So it’s just about us being smart doing our thing and we’ll be out there when we need to. Right now, our main goal is March 28.”
