Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t call Aaron Judge’s condition an oblique injury on Friday. He didn’t even mean it was an injury. But Judge’s discomfort on the left will certainly keep him out of the New York lineup for another day as the team has decided to be wary of the star shooter.
“I just felt like I wanted to wait at least another day,” said Boone, whose Yankees faced the Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. “He had a good treatment day in the afternoon. The same this morning. He hit the cages this morning and he did well.
“I insist, I just felt like it was a situation where I want to give him at least one more day to see how things are going within 24 hours. It’s just a matter of thinking long term and not forcing anything, just to be sure. “
Boone said Judge has undergone “several tests” with the strength and conditioning equipment, but MRI is not recommended.
After blowing the gate for the second game in a row on Tuesday, Judge was out of the lineup against Baltimore on Wednesday. Boone pointed out at the time that Judge had a sore left side and that the team didn’t want the outfielder overloaded. Asked if the discomfort was affecting an oblique muscle, Boone said it was just “ general discomfort. ”
Twice during his Major League career, Judge has lost time due to oblique muscle strains, including a two-month stretch in 2019.
“We all try to take that into account, realizing that we are also talking about a very strong player who is proud to come and play when he can,” Boone said. “Certainly, given the history of that injury, we don’t want it to get worse.”