The schedule may have done the New York Yankees a tiny favor in regards to what happens next after Aaron Judge left Wednesday’s game in Minnesota with an injury.
The Yankees are off on Thursday before returning to action Friday, so it’s a built-in rest day of sorts.
It also means, though, that Yankees fans waiting for a quick turnaround on another Judge update may have to be patient. There’s less likelihood of additional news emerging on Thursday when the Yankees don’t have a game to play.
The Yankees are on the road and won’t play again until Friday night in Arizona against the Diamondbacks. That game will begin at what is 9:40 p.m. ET back in the Bronx.
Aaron Judge Injury: What Happened?
Judge was lifted for a pinch-hitter during the Yankees’ 5-4 loss to the Twins on Wednesday.
Heliot Ramos entered to take that sixth-inning at bat in place of Judge.
Judge said after the game that he felt stiffness in his lower right leg in the first inning. He struck out in his first two at bats and played the field as well before the decision was made to get him out of the game.
“I tried to kind of play it off and see how long we could go, because these games are important down the stretch,” Judge said after the game, via MLB.com. “But kind of talking it over, I thought it’d be the right move to come out, so I don’t cost the team on the field or cost the team on the basepath.”
MLB.com’s Patrick Donnelly wrote after the game that Judge is going to receive “extensive treatment over the next 48 hours.”
Judge added after the game that he couldn’t pinpoint a specific moment that the injury may have occurred. He noted that the ramp up in his return from the rib injury that kept him out for more than three months might explain this — “Once you start ramping up again, things pop up, and that’s where we’ve been,” Judge said.
What’s Next for Aaron Judge?
The Yankees aren’t jumping to conclusions.
“We’re not going to speculate one way or the other,” manager Aaron Boone told reporters after Wednesday’s game. “We’ll just see how he responds.”
It’s not going to be an easy finishing run for the Yankees.
The three-game series in Arizona comes against a Diamondbacks team that has a fighting chance to claim the National League’s final Wild Card spot, so they’ll be playing hard.
Then beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 22, the Yankees play a four-game set (with a doubleheader on 9/22) against the Tampa Bay Rays that could determine in a big way who wins the AL East Division.
After that, the Yankees close the season at home with a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Yankees have already clinched a playoff berth, so it’s most important for them to have Judge in October. They’d also like him for the stretch run, though, if they can have him.
“Obviously he’s a key figure of what we do,” Boone said after Wednesday’s game. “Hopefully we get it treated and knock it out and be a factor at some point.”
Yankees’ Aaron Judge Injury News Has To Wait