TAMPA — The middle of Aaron Judge’s abs has been bothering him, but an MRI came back clean on Monday.
“You know how it is here,” the outfielder said Tuesday. “They want to get a picture just to make sure it’s right. So we did that and everything came back great. Kind of what we all assumed, but you just got to double check.”
Still, the Yankees’ captain is taking a break from swinging, as he said he’s been feeling “banged up” when he follows through on his cuts. Judge planned on doing defensive work at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Tuesday, but he decided to skip a scheduled batting practice session for the second day in a row.
Judge, whose big toe still requires maintenance, also indicated that he won’t play as planned on Wednesday but that he hopes to resume swinging later this week. However, he’s not sure about an exact timeline.
“You could ask everybody in this room: they got something going on,” Judge said, downplaying the ab injury. “It just happens that when I get something going on, I get asked questions about it. But I’m not too worried about it. The most important thing is Opening Day, and I’d rather take some days now and be smart about it. I think that’s what comes with old age, is being a little smarter about taking care of your body.”
Judge believes the tweak is the result of swinging every day since November. However, he said that if it were the regular season, he’d be playing. The 31-year-old added that he’s “pretty sure” he’ll play on Opening Day, but he didn’t want to speculate about the future.
Judge also restated that the plan was always for him to get two at-bats on Sunday, when his departure before other Yankees regulars caused some fans to panic.
“We were scheduled to do two, so it kind of worked out,” Judge claimed, echoing what Aaron Boone has said. “It’s something I’ve kind of felt for a week, just something slight, and I was kind of like, ‘You know what, instead of pushing through it, we got some time here. Let’s take some time and make sure we’re alright.’”
Judge typically tries to get around 30 spring training at-bats in order to feel ready for the season. Right now, he’s at 14. However, he said that he can get his work done on machines if needed.
“The most important day is the 28th,” he said. “So we’re just kind of leading up to that. We’ve already got quite a few at-bats. We’ve got the Trajekt [pitching machine]. We got all the things we need here that kind of simulate some at-bats. So we’ll get some swings inside.
“There’s no real need to push it right now.”
While Judge tried to minimize any concerns over his own health, he and Gerrit Cole had Yankees fans terrified on Monday when Boone revealed that the reigning Cy Young needs an MRI on his right elbow.
The Yankees still had not disclosed a prognosis for Cole as of Tuesday morning; he was expected to get multiple opinions.
“I don’t know what’s come back yet with the MRI,” Judge said. “But to see him the other night, where he’s still throwing 95-97 mph — I know he’s not bouncing back the way he is, but that guy’s a perfectionist. So I’m hoping for the best news. Even if it’s him being out a couple of weeks, whatever it is. I’ll take that over anything more, so we’re all praying for the best.
“Any Yankee fan, I understand [being worried], but not all the answers are out there yet. So everyone can speculate, but once we get all the details, then we can make some decisions.”
