Yankees' Aaron Judge 'not happy' about IL decision

It appears not everybody involved was on board with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge landing on the 10-day injured list. 

"I’m still not happy about it," Judge told reporters about the decision, per Dan Martin of the New York Post. "It is what it is. I’ll be back here in a couple days." 

Judge hit the IL retroactive to April 28 due to a right hip strain ahead of Monday's series opener against the Cleveland Guardians and will miss the upcoming three-game tilt at the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. Yankees manager Aaron Boone has suggested Judge will return as soon as he's eligible this coming Monday against the Oakland Athletics, and Boone also indicated he decided to sit the reigning American League Most Valuable Player following a discussion with the 31-year-old.

Judge has made it known he felt he could've played through the issue.

"I asked for a couple days and got outweighed," Judge explained. "This whole area, the hip and oblique, you don’t want to mess with it." 

Judge initially seemed to hurt himself while sliding during last Wednesday's win at the Minnesota Twins but was able to start Thursday's game at the Texas Rangers. However, he exited that matchup early due to discomfort and didn't play again before he was placed on the IL, apparently against his wishes. 

Without Judge, the Yankees dropped three straight games in Texas and then squandered a lead at home versus Cleveland on Monday night. The Bronx Bombers defeated the Guardians 4-2 on Tuesday to end a frustrating four-game losing streak but nevertheless remain in the basement of the AL East standings at 16-15.

Tampa Bay began Wednesday afternoon at 24-6. 

Judge added during his comments that hitting has felt "great" during batting practice sessions and that he only feels the hip strain "a little bit" while throwing. That "little bit" was enough for Boone and company to protect New York's most important asset from himself through the opening week of May.