Aaron Judge unlikely to play on Opening Day for the Yankees, Brian Cashman says
TAMPA, Fla. – Two days of extensive testing on Aaron Judge’s right shoulder/pec area had yet to give the Yankees an answer of what exactly is ailing the rightfielder, and a third day of tests was already underway Tuesday.
But regardless of what is or isn’t found, Brian Cashman said it is unlikely Judge will be an option for Opening Day March 26 in Baltimore.
“As of right now…I don’t see him ready by Opening Day because of the timeframe, 3 ½ weeks [until the opener],” the Yankees general manager said Tuesday morning.
After the Yankees beat the Red Sox, 9-1, that afternoon at Steinbrenner Field, Aaron Boone wasn’t ready to go there when asked specifically about Cashman’s comments.
“I don't know,” Boone said. “I think we're going to sit here and speculate. I think it's premature. I understand you want the answer on it, but the bottom line is he’s been doing better the last few days.”
Judge, who underwent more tests Tuesday morning and Tuesday afternoon in Tampa, has not done any baseball activities for at least the last three days.
While there is no timetable for Judge, Cashman did give one for Giancarlo Stanton, who suffered a Grade 1 right calf strain last week. He’ll be down, Cashman said, for 4-6 weeks, officially ending his chances at being ready for the season-opener.
In regard to Judge, the mystery has only deepened.
“We’re running him through a whole battery of things, just to eliminate everything and anything and hopefully they all come back negative,” Cashman said. “In the meantime, he’s really responding well to the treatment protocols that our performance science team has been running him through, but we’ll see.”
The mystery extends to the precise area of discomfort.
Judge, who arrived in Tampa in late January healthy and began going through full workouts at the team’s minor league complex, was shut down in early February from taking batting practice after experiencing soreness, he and the Yankees said, in the shoulder.
But Saturday and Sunday Boone referenced the “pec area” that had been bothering Judge.
“Aaron [Judge] said before it was the shoulder, now it’s moved down toward the pec,” Cashman said without elaborating.
Is that element, not being able to even pinpoint the area of discomfort, of the situation particularly concerning?
“We’re just trying to figure it out and determine what’s bothering him,” Cashman said. “But in the meantime, I can just tell you he’s feeling better in the last 48 hours. But, again, we still have more tests we want to run through. But I have nothing to provide right now because there’s been nothing that we’ve been able to diagnose as what ails him as of yet.”
The injuries leave the Yankees with a possible Opening Day outfield of Brett Gardner in center, flanked by Mike Tauchman and Clint Frazier. Miguel Andujar, whom the Yankees have been playing in the outfield this spring – and he played there again Tuesday – could be an option, as could utility man Rosell Herrera, who has opened eyes so far in camp with his athleticism and quality of at-bats. Utility man Tyler Wade, who appeared in games last season in left, center and right – as well as short, third and second – will start in left Wednesday night.
“We’ll take the best from the available players that are here competing,” Cashman said. “We certainly have a number of different people who are more than capable. Hopefully we have all those choices in play by the time we’re putting lineups together.”
After placing a record 30 players on the injured list last season, the Yankees, who overhauled their medical and training staffs in the offseason, have not gotten off to a significantly better start in that department this season.
“If you’re losing people, you’d rather lose them right now, it’s March,” Cashman said. “Obviously, Sevy (Luis Severino) notwithstanding because he’s out for the year, but it’s part of the process, certainly one you don’t prefer, but that’s where you try to make sure you have as much depth as you possibly can.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
