One day after Yankees beat writer Bryan Hoch reported that outfielder Aaron Judge is “mid-spring beat up,” according to manager Aaron Boone, Hoch posted on “X,” Tuesday that Judge underwent an MRI on his sore “abdominal section.”
“We ran tests and everything came back good,” Judge said. “It’s just what I told them. I was a little banged up and needed a couple of days. Hopefully we’ll get back out there soon.”
When asked if he’d be ready by Opening Day in Houston on March 28, Judge was hopeful if non-committal.Â
“I’m pretty sure,” he said, via Hoch. “I don’t want to speculate or talk about anything that hasn’t come yet. The most important thing is take some time now and be back out there soon.”
This comes after reports that ace Gerrit Cole had a precautionary MRI on his elbow Monday and will have Yankee fans thinking “here we go again.” Over the past few years Yankee faithful have started to take official injury updates with a grain of salt thanks to the team’s tendency to downplay the severity of injuries.Â
In the disaster that was 2023 for New York, they did this with both Judge and first baseman Anthony Rizzo.Â
After crashing into the right field wall in a June game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team placed Judge on the 10-day injured list with a “right toe sprain.”Â
He missed 42 games.Â
Rizzo, meanwhile, suffered a concussion after a collision with San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. on a pickoff attempt in May.Â
He missed the next series with a “stiff neck,” but returned to the lineup in June. He was one of the worst hitters in all MLB during that stretch, before returning to the injured list in August and officially getting shut down for the year in September with “post-concussion syndrome.”
So while it isn’t bad news that Judge’s MRI came back clean and he may indeed be in the Opening Day lineup, don’t blame Yankee fans for assuming the worst until they actually see Judge back on the diamond.Â
