The New York Yankees suffered a major black eye as Aaron Judge can't swing a bat for three weeks due to a wrist injury.
Judge has been doing wonders for the Yankees by leading the team with 26 homers on top of 61 RBIs and an efficient .947 OPS. The elite outfielder suffered the injury after being drilled in the right wrist by a 93 mph fastball from Jakob Junis in the initial inning during their game against the Kansas City Royals. The Yankees went on to pull off a 7-2 win over the Royals on Thursday's MLB action.
The 26-year-old superstar managed to stay in the game but eventually left the stadium in the fourth after being replaced by Miguel Andujar. Judge was brought to the New York Presbyterian Hospital for an MRI and CT scan after an examination by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad.
"I'm concerned any time our players have to leave the game with something, and obviously Judgey is so important," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Judge isn't likely to need surgery, but the Yankees said that it will be about three weeks before he can swing a bat in a match. With Judge now being placed on the 10-day disabled list, the Yankees have recalled the services of infielder Tyler Wade from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
First Time In The Disabled List
It will be the first time for Judge to be placed on the disabled list. He will be joining Gary Sanchez, who is likely to miss another month after exasperating a groin injury. Judge came into Thursday's game with a solid batting rate of .283/.396/.547.
Judge, who has 445 plate appearances in his belt, also posted 70 runs scored to go along with 68 walks. The absence of Judge will likely give Giancarlo Stanton a regular playing time on the right field. In addition, Brett Borzelli of Pinstripe Alley projects that Andujar, who replaced Judge at the designated hitter position, is expected to assume the role moving forward.
Stanton has played 31 games in the left field, 21 in the right field, and 47 in the DH. Stanton and Judge are currently tied for the team lead in RBIs.
Aside from Judge, team starter Sonny Gray also left Thursday's game after being nicked in the pitching hand by a tough grounder. Boone said that the ball likely hit the muscle area of Gray's hand, thus lessening the risk of a serious injury. Gray was slated to have X-rays right after the technician arrived with Judge from the hospital.
Photo: Keith Allison | Flickr
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