Aaron Judge Speaks Out on Injury Details and Still Believes He Could Be Ready for Opening Day
What's this, a glimmer of hope for Yankees fans?
While folks in the Bronx remain devastated over Luis Severino being out for the year, the concern has since shifted to Aaron Judge. The superstar slugger has been missing from action due to pectoral discomfort and has undergone around 10 rounds of testing.
Despite all of that, Judge emerged on Thursday, when we were all promised updates on his extensive testing, and isn't shutting the door on potentially being ready for Opening Day.
Judge in clubhouse just now: said he’s “frustrated” by all the tests with no answers to this point. In his mind he is NOT ruling out Opening Day as a possibility. Said the discomfort he’s been feeling is both in the right shoulder and the right pec area
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) March 5, 2020
The outfielder remains frustrated, and rightfully so. He's desperate to get back out on the field with his teammates and get ready for the 2020 campaign, a season the franchise is hoping ends with World Series title No. 28.
First, though, the medical staff needs to find out just what in the world is causing Judge discomfort/pain whenever he tries to swing the lumber.
Aaron Judge: "A couple more tests, a couple more talks with doctors. We want to figure out what’s going on because quite a few of the tests are coming back clean. So we’re trying to figure it out."
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) March 5, 2020
Though he's getting a clean bill of health, the soreness lingers, shifting from his shoulder to his pec and back depending on the day.
“One day I’ll wake up and the chest is feeling good, next day shoulder is feeling bad. Next day, the shoulder is feeling good. It’s just kind of back and forth right now.”
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 5, 2020
At this point, we see no reason not to shut him down, at least temporarily. If every test is clean, but the pain is real, let's let the man rest.
In 102 games last season, the 6-7, 280-pounder hit .272, with 27 home runs and 55 RBI. We all know what he means to this franchise. Should he miss a prolonged amount of time to kick off the new year, it'd be a major blow to this team, despite the depth they have in the outfield.
For now, all those Yankee supporters who have feared the worst should wait to see what happens over the next few days. Judge's injury could be a short-term deal. If that's the case, talk about a major relief.