As Yankees await Aaron Judge MRI news, they call up outfielder Jake Bauers

 ARLINGTON, Texas — The Yankees brought up outfielder Jake Bauers from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday in case they received bad news on the MRI that Aaron Judge underwent earlier in the day after being removed from Thursday night’s game against the Rangers with right hip discomfort.

As of first pitch Friday, Aaron Boone said the results had not yet come back. “We don’t have anything at this point,” he said.  

“Hopefully in the next couple of hours,” Boone said of when he expected to hear something. “He’s going to see the doctor and we’ll have a better idea of what we’re dealing with.”

Bauers, a non-roster invitee in spring training, was promoted to be a part of the taxi squad each team is allowed to carry for road games. His status would change if a stint on the injured list is deemed necessary for Judge. 

It goes without saying what it would mean for an already struggling offense if the reigning American League MVP and team captain is lost for a significant period of time.

“He’s arguably the best player in the sport,” Boone said. “It’s no secret what he means to our team. Hopefully we don’t lose him for long, but we’ve got a game to play.”

Judge, hitting .261 with six homers, five doubles, 14 RBIs and an .863 OPS in 26 games, was taken out in the fourth inning of Thursday night’s 4-2 victory over the Rangers because of discomfort in the hip and was replaced by Oswaldo Cabrera. Franchy Cordero started in rightfield Friday night.

After  Thursday’s game, Judge said he anticipated missing “a couple of days.” Even if Friday’s tests come back negative, playing another game in this series would seem to be a remote possibility for him.

The injury, Judge said, occurred during Wednesday afternoon’s victory over the Twins in Minneapolis when he was thrown out trying to steal third. He went in with an awkward headfirst slide, one in which he landed right-side first, rolling both hands, his right especially, in the process.

After the play, with his right hand clasped, Judge immediately bolted into the dugout tunnel, followed by a member of the training staff.

Judge stayed in the game Wednesday and, afterward, said the wrist was “good.” His right hip, however, did not feel quite right when he got up Thursday morning in the team hotel in Dallas, though he felt it would loosen up as the day went on.

But on a swing by Judge during his second at-bat Thursday, Boone said he noticed something wrong. “I saw him kind of paying attention to it,” Boone said of the hip. “And then I just wanted to get him out of the game.”

Judge did not fight the decision. “Just a little grab in the hip area after that headfirst dive the other [day], kind of the whole right side’s been a little locked up,” he said. “It wasn’t until the second-to-last swing of the second at-bat [in the fourth inning] I kind of felt something grab.”

Bauers, 27, had a good spring training with the Yankees, something he took into the regular season with Scranton. The lefthanded-hitting outfielder, who hit .407 with no homers and an .877 OPS in 13 Grapefruit League games, was hitting .319 with nine homers and a 1.271 OPS in 21 games in Triple-A at the time of his promotion to the taxi squad.

“I think it’s always kind of been in there, it just hasn’t always shown up in games,” Bauers said of the power surge he’s shown with Scranton. “I feel like the Yankees, to their credit, have gotten my swing to a place where I’m just able to do it consistently. Hopefully nothing changes now that I’m here.”