Yankees Notebook: Aaron Judge ‘doing better,’ but still no diagnosis
Dr. Christopher Ahmad had a busy night planned in the Bronx on Tuesday.
The physician was scheduled to meet with several injured Yankees, most notably Aaron Judge. Judge injured his right big toe while making a gate-breaking catch at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, and he was not in the lineup Sunday or Tuesday.
The Yankees had an off day on Monday, during which Judge underwent testing. Still, Aaron Boone didn’t provide much of an update when he met with reporters before Tuesday’s game against the White Sox at Yankee Stadium.
“Not really,” the manager said when asked if there’s anything new with Judge. “He’s doing better today.”
Boone added that Judge received treatment on Tuesday and that swelling has improved. But when asked if it was made clear to him whether or not Judge’s toe is broken, the skipper didn’t want to comment on what “the preliminary tech reads.”
“We’ll get the real reads tonight, and the hands-on evaluation is important in both cases,” Boone said, referring to Judge and Nestor Cortes, who was also scheduled to meet with Ahmad on Tuesday night.
Cortes will go on the injured list with a shoulder issue, according to Boone, but there were no details on that either. Cortes, who has experienced prolonged soreness between starts, will be replaced by Randy Vasquez on the roster.
Vasquez will pitch Wednesday.
When asked if Boone is concerned or optimistic about Judge, the manager replied “both.”
“I don’t like when he’s not in the lineup,” Boone said. “And it’s hurting him enough to not be in there. But hopefully we will get good news and he continues to progress. It seems like he’s progressed here over the last 24 hours from a swelling standpoint, which I think is an important factor.”
BADER’S BUILDING UP
Harrison Bader has been building up with regards to baseball activities. He noted that he’s eligible to come off the 10-day IL on Friday, but he said, “that might be a bit of a stretch” since hamstrings are “tricky.” He and the Yankees will evaluate how he’s doing at the 10-day mark, but Boone said the last few days have been encouraging.
“You don’t want to come back too soon,” Bader said, “especially given the position I play in centerfield.”
Bader didn’t want to put a timeline on his return, but he said his hamstring hasn’t been bothering him since injuring it in Seattle.
“When it first happened, it was just kind of a little guitar string pulling down there, but I really am over the hump with that,” he said. “Now it’s just a matter of adding load and speed, which takes a few days. I wish I could just roll out of bed tomorrow and be ready to play in the lineup by the next day. But that’s just not how these things go.”
Bader also said he and the Yankees haven’t discussed the possibility of rehab games yet, but he noted that the team has resources that could make that unnecessary.
STANTON AND THE OF
Boone said that Giancarlo Stanton will start ramping up his outfield work this week, but the Yankees won’t rush him based on whatever happens with Judge.
“We need to do this smart,” the manager said.
For now, Stanton is just DH-ing.
WEBER IS ALSO WAITING
Ryan Weber was another Yankee with plans to see Ahmad on Tuesday night. The reliever hit the 15-day IL in Los Angeles after suffering a right forearm strain, but he’ll get a more specific diagnosis from Ahmad.
