The murkiness surrounding New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is naturally frustrating an organization and its fans searching for answers.
It’s also rubbing off on the slugger, himself.
Judge admitted Thursday morning that he’s been “frustrated” by the silence pertaining to the shoulder injury that has held him out of spring training.
“I’m trying to describe what I’m feeling but we haven’t gotten a definite answer what’s going on yet,” Judge said (h/t NJ.com). “It’s a combination. Sometimes, one day I’ll wake up and my chest is feeling good, shoulder is feeling bad. Next day, I’ll wake up, shoulder is feeling good. It’s just kind of back and forth right now.”
With the regular season bearing down on the Yankees, that uncertainty has prompted doubt to creep in when it comes to Judge getting on the field soon.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman admitted earlier this week that it is doubtful Judge will be ready for Opening Day.
The 27-year-old has had plenty of difficulties staying healthy over the first three years of his MLB career. He’s missed at least 50 games in each of the last two campaigns, derailing consistent success that was promised after his monster rookie season.
While things seem bleak for Judge at the moment, he still is holding out hope that he could be ready to go by Opening Day in Baltimore on March 26.
“Still got plenty of time,” he said.
It would be a considerable boost if the Yankees were to get Judge back in the fold sooner rather than later. This spring has already featured several injuries to key names, including Luis Severino’s looming season-ending Tommy John surgery, Giancarlo Stanton’s calf strain, and James Paxton’s two-month recovery from back surgery in early February.
