AL MVP Aaron Judge left Thursday's game in Texas in the bottom of the fourth inning due to a health concern. The New York Yankees later informed reporters that Judge was experiencing some discomfort in his right hip (relayed by Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). After Judge took his exit, Oswaldo Cabrera came off the bench and took over in right field.
The club will surely provide more details on Judge’s status after the conclusion of the contest. At the moment, there is little to suggest it was more than a precautionary move. Judge has been in the starting lineup for all 26 of New York’s games this season. While he is not hitting at last year’s super-human level early on, the four-time All-Star has a well-above-average .261/.352/.511 batting line with six home runs in 108 trips to the plate.
Elsewhere on the Yankee roster, manager Aaron Boone provided reporters with injury updates on a pair of relievers before tonight’s contest. Right-hander Lou Trivino is headed for a second opinion on his injured elbow, tweets Greg Joyce of the New York Post. Trivino has yet to pitch this season due to an elbow sprain.
The Yankees had announced early in Spring Training that Trivino would be out into May, but that timeline was further pushed back when he recently experienced renewed soreness after throwing a live bullpen session. The 31-year-old met with Yankees’ physician Christopher Ahmad on Wednesday.
Acquired from the A’s alongside Frankie Montas last summer, Trivino threw 21 2/3 innings of 1.66 ERA ball down the stretch for New York. The former Oakland closer had been quite effective from 2020-21, but was off to a rough first half to the ’22 campaign before righting the ship in the Bronx. He could be a medium-to-high-leverage arm in the Yankee relief corps if healthy. The mention of a second opinion for an elbow injury obviously raises the possibility of a long-term absence, though.
Meanwhile, fellow right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga has been out since the second week of the season with inflammation in his throwing elbow. While it does not seem there’s a ton of long-term concern with this one, Boone told reporters the 28-year-old was experiencing some soreness after Wednesday's throwing session (via Erik Boland of Newsday). The club has not provided many specifics, though it is possible Loáisiga finds himself a little behind schedule in his rehab process as a result of the soreness.
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