Aaron Judge to Miss First Few Spring Training Games as Aaron Boone Gives Further Clarity on Injury

Yankee fans are quicker to enter Injury Panic Mode than most, especially after the 2019 season they just endured.

Unfortunately, it seems reasonable to think "Next Man Up" 2.0 is en route after the entire team reported to Spring Training on Tuesday with very limited participation from Aaron Judge.

After a light workout during which Judge fielded and stretched, but didn't throw and sat out BP, Aaron Boone clarified that his slugger is dealing with a "cranky" shoulder, but isn't displaying anything structural.

Aaron Boone says tests on Aaron Judge’s right shoulder show nothing more than soreness and he likely will only miss a few games at the start of #Yankees spring training
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 18, 2020

A few games at the start of the spring mean very little in the grand scheme of things.

And yes, before you ask, Judge did receive an MRI and a battery of tests already, all of which found nothing to worry about.

Boone said Aaron Judge’s shoulder isn’t a big concern, called it “crankiness” that he feels. Went though tests, nothing stood out in MRI. #Yankees
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) February 18, 2020

Judge, like most of the Yankees who felt wronged once again by the Astros in 2019, surely went into his preparation for 2020 with a bit more motivation. Whether he overworked himself amid a frenzy of heavy lifting is anyone's guess.

Hopefully, a few days off sets the crankiness aside.