How will Yanks proceed without Judge?
This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat e-newsletter. To learn the total e-newsletter, click on right here. And subscribe to get it usually in your inbox.
Can these Yankees win with out their captain? They’re going to wish to.
The Yankees haven’t supplied a transparent timetable for Judge’s return from the best nice toe damage he sustained whereas making that catch on Saturday in Los Angeles, robbing the Dodgers’ J.D. Martinez of an extra-base hit whereas operating full power right into a concrete slab.
X-rays and an MRI confirmed no fracture within the toe; Judge was recognized with a contusion and a sprain. As the Dodgers made plans so as to add padding reinforcement to the “Judge Zone” within the Majors’ third-oldest lively ballpark, Judge obtained a platelet-rich plasma injection, meant to hurry therapeutic, on Tuesday in New York.
Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone mentioned that Judge is “pretty sore” following the injection and that the workforce would reveal a goal date for Judge’s return after its upcoming sequence towards the Red Sox.
“It’s really about getting the swelling out of there, which I’m sure will be [in] the next several days, and then hopefully we’ll have a better idea of the timeline, possibly by the weekend,” Boone mentioned.
But the tea leaves appear to point that we’re speaking a few Judge absence measured in weeks, not days, and that’s a big concern for the Yankees.
Though Judge missed 10 video games from April 28-May 8 of this season with a strained proper hip, he nonetheless leads all Major League qualifiers with a .674 slugging proportion and a 189 wRC+ this season, whereas belting 13 residence runs over his final 19 video games.
But this is a stat that could be essentially the most vital: the Yankees are 30-19 when Judge performs this season, and 6-7 when he doesn’t, together with Tuesday’s loss to the White Sox.
“Can’t replace that guy, from a leadership standpoint [or] from a playing standpoint,” mentioned third baseman Josh Donaldson. “We’re just really going to have to come together as a team and grind out at-bats, play good defense, pitch the ball well, and hopefully you keep winning ballgames until he gets back.”
Judge was sidelined quickly after Giancarlo Stanton and Donaldson returned from their respective hamstring accidents this previous season, and as Harrison Bader continues to fix a hamstring damage, hopefully returning late this weekend or early subsequent week.
Incredibly, the Yanks haven’t had Bader, Judge and Stanton collectively within the lineup for a single recreation but this season. In the meantime, search for Jake Bauers, Willie Calhoun, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and others to choose up outfield at-bats whereas Judge recuperates.
Speaking on Sunday in Los Angeles, Judge mentioned that he believes a powerful mentality within the clubhouse helps the workforce energy via accidents to star gamers.
“These past couple of years, we’ve talked about all these top prospects we have, guys on the cusp of getting the chance to be in the big leagues,” he mentioned. “Now we’re getting an opportunity to see a few of these guys.
“Speaking specifically of [Oswaldo] Cabrera, two long flights, also hits a homer in his first game back and is making great plays for us on defense and playing wherever he needs to. I think everybody has a good mindset, and they’re ready for the role when they get it.”
