Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge was shaken up during Saturday’s 9-2 win over the Royals. The slugger appeared to tweak his left side after hitting a single off of Glenn Sparkman in the sixth inning, and was wincing in pain as team trainers attended to him. Per an official announcement from the club, he sustained a left oblique injury and will undergo an MRI at the New York Presbyterian Hospital this afternoon.
While it’s not yet clear how long Judge will be out of commission, it’s a worrying injury given his history. The 26-year-old outfielder was similarly sidelined in 2016 after a right oblique strain brought an abrupt end to his first MLB call-up, and missed significant time again in 2018 after fracturing his right wrist. It’s also a blow to the Yankees, who currently have a dozen players nursing injuries from bone spurs to rotator cuff issues on the injured list.
Prior to Saturday’s incident, Judge went 2-for-4 with a first-inning home run and a base hit, adding to a healthy .288/.404/.521 batting line and running total of five homers, 11 RBI, and a .925 OPS through his first 89 plate appearances of 2019. He was replaced by infielder/outfielder Tyler Wade, who stepped in to pinch-run in the sixth and returned at the top of the seventh to assume Judge’s post in right field.
Sunday, 10:53 AM EDT: Judge has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain, the Yankees announced Sunday. Infielder Thairo Estrada was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and is set to replace Judge on the roster.
