Yankees' Aaron Judge won't need surgery on right elbow, but Carlos Rodon undergoes procedure
Yankees rightfielder Aaron Judge runs to the dugout during the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 4 of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 8. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Aaron Judge will not need surgery to repair the flexor strain in his right elbow, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said during his end-of-season news conference on Thursday.
That’s good news, obviously, about the club’s most important player. But that news did not mean the Yankees came away unscathed when it comes to offseason procedures.
Boone confirmed that shortstop Anthony Volpe underwent surgery to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder on Tuesday and also disclosed that lefthander Carlos Rodon underwent surgery this week to remove loose bodies in his left elbow and shave a bone spur.
As a result, Rodon is in the early stages of an eight-week period of not being able to throw and will start next season on the injured list, according to general manager Brian Cashman, who spoke after Boone on Thursday. Volpe also will start next year on the IL.
“[He’ll] be available in April or early May,” Cashman said of Rodon.
Cashman said Volpe should come off the IL at some point in April or, “worst case,” in May.
Giancarlo Stanton, who missed the first 2 1⁄2 months of the season with tennis elbow in both elbows — a condition that never completely healed and required constant maintenance once he did come back — will not require any kind of operation during the offseason, Boone said.
As for Judge, the organization was able to breathe at least a bit of a sigh of relief.
Judge, who just completed perhaps his best all-around season — one in which he positioned himself to win a third American League MVP and second in as many years — spent July 26-Aug. 4 on the IL. Those were the only 10 games he missed all season.
After returning, Judge spent the next several weeks exclusively at DH before again playing in rightfield on Sept. 5.
Judge, known for having one of the best arms in the sport, wasn’t close to 100% with his throwing down the stretch. It quickly became part of opposing teams’ scouting reports to test his arm in ways they didn’t before the injury.
Rival scouts, however, saw steady improvement in Judge’s arm strength the last couple of weeks of the regular season and into the postseason, though he still wasn’t throwing at maximum effort.
“He actually had an MRI after the season, showed continuing improvement in the flexor muscle, and he finished the season doing pretty well,” Boone said. “So no surgery will be needed for Aaron. He’ll take some time off and continue to do strengthening things and rehabbing stuff, but felt like he finished the season in a pretty good place.”
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.
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