The New York Yankees have been navigating their schedule without the help of slugger Aaron Judge.
As recently announced, Judge has been transferred to the 60-day IL as of July 18 due to a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side.
Manager Aaron Boone has now provided an additional statement on Judge’s status.
Yankees’ Aaron Boone Comments on Judge
New York Yankees’ Aaron Boone provided a new statement on the status of Aaron Judge
According to baseball reporter Bryan Hoch of MLB.com (via X), Boone weighed in on the 34-year-old’s status.
“There’s healing going on, which is good, but he’s still not able to start any baseball activities or anything,” said Boone. “He needs to get to a point where he’s asymptomatic, where you really start ramping up more upper-body stuff. The good news is, the pain is subsiding somewhat over the last couple weeks and changing from that sharp [pain] to more dull.”
There is still much up in the air regarding Judge, but any progress should be warmly welcomed at this point.
Yankees’ IL Still Claims Star Players
GettyAaron Judge of the New York Yankees was transferred to the 60-day IL
Judge is not the only notable name watching from the sidelines right now.
Before his injury, he was slashing .248/.375/.533 with a .908 OPS and 17 homers through59 games.
His last game appearance was on May 31 when New York faced the Athletics.
Sitting on the IL alongside Judge are Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Giancarlo Stanton, Luis Gil, Carlos Lagrange and Clarke Schmidt.
Stanton has been out for quite some time, as his date reflects April 28. He is out with a right calf strain, with an expected return of July or August, per the Yankees’ latest injury report.
As another one of New York’s sluggers, watching him hit the IL left fans concerned.
Before getting injured, he was slashing .256/.302/.422 with a .724 OPS and three home runs through 24 games.
His last appearance was on April 24 against the Houston Astros.
Snapshot of the Yankees Right Now
GettyManager Aaron Boone and the New York Yankees are in the midst of their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers
New York was scheduled to face the Los Angeles Dodgers for a second clash on Saturday, July 18, but the matchup was rescheduled to Sunday. They will now be playing a doubleheader to wrap up the three-game set.
The Yankees were handed a tight 2-1 loss in the series opener on Friday, but their chances of winning the stretch aren’t over just yet.
New York is ranked second in the American League East at 54-43 overall. They are just two wins below the Tampa Bay Rays (56-40).
Lining up behind the Yankees in the AL East are the Boston Red Sox (48-48), the Baltimore Orioles (47-51) and the Toronto Blue Jays (46-52).
In the Major Leagues as a whole, New York comes in at sixth, trailing the Chicago Cubs (55-43), the Atlanta Braves (56-40), the Rays, the Milwaukee Brewers (60-37) and their current opponents, the Dodgers (62-36).
Before heading to New York, Los Angeles had faced a brutal three-game losing skid to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Now, they’re looking to get themselves back on track by clinching a victory at Yankee Stadium.
New York Yankees’ Aaron Boone Provides New Aaron Judge Update