The New York Yankees are set to host the Pittsburgh Pirates in a Spring Training game on Wednesday night. Aaron Judge has not played since March 10 due to something in his core, which caused him to get an MRI that came back clean. Yankees manager Aaron Boone has said that Judge would return a couple of times in the last week, notably on Saturday. That ended up not happening. Boone recently said that he plans for Judge to be in the lineup for tonight’s game against the Pirates. Yankees fans are waiting on pins and needles to see when Judge will return to the lineup so they can have faith that he will play on Opening Day against the Houston Astros on March 28. The question is: Is Aaron Judge playing tonight vs. the Pirates?
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Aaron Judge injury status vs. Pirates
After dealing with a core issue that has kept him out of the lineup in Spring Training for the Yankees since March 10, Aaron Judge is in the lineup and playing tonight against the Pirates, batting third and playing center field, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
This time, Boone’s statement about when Judge would return to Spring Training action was accurate, as he is set to play against the Pirates tonight. It is even more encouraging given that Judge will be playing in center field, and not just a designated hitter. It is vital that Judge is healthy enough to play in center field for the Yankees, as the team plans to have new acquisition Juan Soto play in right field, while Alex Verdugo plays in left field.
If Judge’s injury had caused him to not be able to play in center field, it would cause a bit of a problem for the lineup. It would mean Soto likely would have to shift to designated hitter, relegating Giancarlo Stanton either to the bench, or the outfield more often just to get his bat in the lineup.
Although the Yankees are still dealing with the injuries to Gerrit Cole and DJ LeMahieu, the news that Judge is returning to the lineup is a sigh of relief. LeMahieu is not as important as Cole, and likely will not be out as long. Judge is virtually essential.
The blueprint for the Yankees was to form a dynamic duo with Judge and Soto in the lineup this season. With the injury to Cole that is expected to keep him out 1-2 months, New York needs the duo of Judge and Soto to keep the team afloat in the early parts of the season.
As of right now, it seems that Judge is on track to be ready to play on Opening Day, despite Yankees fans being on edge due to him not playing in Spring Training games over the last week or so.
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