TAMPA - The plan was for New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge to take swings on Friday, and that is what he said he was going to do in the cage after speaking in front of reporters in the clubhouse on Friday afternoon.
Judge said he is doing his normal routine of cage work, lifting and outfield drills. But as for his chances of playing in Saturday's Grapefruit League game, he is still in wait-and-see mode. The Yankees have said they expect Judge to play if his cage work went well.
Judge's goal is to be ready for Opening Day on March 28, which he appears to be optimistic about. He doesn't want to rush anything given the fact that these games do not matter at the moment.
The 31-year-old AL MVP winner received an MRI on his abs earlier in the week, which came back clean. And as Inside the Pinstripes reported on Wednesday night, the abs that were barking are connected to his oblique, which is why the Yankees are being cautious. The good news is that Judge appears to be healthy, and on track for Opening Day, which is the current expectation.
Judge also tore a ligament in his toe last season after crashing through the fence at Dodger Stadium while making a spectacular catch. The outfielder missed a total of 42 games, and his presence was sorely missed in the Bronx.
Earlier in camp, Judge told reporters that his toe will likely require maintenance for the rest of his career.
"It's going to be, I think, a constant maintenance … the rest of my career," Judge said Tuesday, via The Associated Press. "Anything with injuries like that, you just got to stay on top of it so it doesn't flare up again."
Judge is expected to spend a majority of time in center field this season due to the arrivals of Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo, who will be occupying the corner outfield spots. But center can be a physically taxing position on the lower-half of an outfielder's body, so the Yankees may have to find ways to spell him in the form of playing in a corner spot or serving as the DH on certain days.
The bottom line is that the Yankees need Judge to be healthy for a large chunk of the season so they can reach their goal of a World Series title this year. They have already lost Gerrit Cole to an elbow injury, which will not require Tommy John surgery since there is no tear to the UCL, for at least the next one to two months. The team cannot afford to lose both of their superstars at the same time, but it sounds like Judge will be good to go moving forward, whether he plays on Saturday or not.
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