SF. PETERSBURG, Florida – Aaron Judge sat down again on Friday to open the Yankees series against the Rays, while the player on the right continues to fight pain on the left.
It was the second consecutive Judge game to be held outside the group surrounded on the team’s day off on Thursday.
“I felt like I wanted to wait at least another day,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the game. “We’ll see where we are in 24 hours.”
The judge took the beating practice and received treatment on Friday, and Boone said the judge “probably” could have played.
“He just wants to play the long game and not force anything back, just to be safe right now,” Boone said. “I’m encouraged by what I saw in the cage.”
Despite receiving a match in each of the two previous games, the referee appeared to have discomfort on the bases and on the right field during his most recent appearance on Tuesday. Boone said the pain the judge developed in that game was not the reason the judge was fired after seven innings on Monday or played the last three games in the Grapefruit League during spring training.
Boone acknowledged the judge’s injury history – especially related to his oblique muscle – considered the decision to be cautious.
“Everything is baked in the cake,” Boone said. “It’s no secret how important he is to our club. Certainly, the history of that injury is not something we want to aggravate. “
Boone added, however, that he was not sure exactly what the judge’s actual injury was and whether it was, in fact, the oblique that was at the root of the problem.
“I’d say nothing limits him,” Boone said. “We make sure more – with any soft tissue, such as a calf, a hamster, sideways – these are things you want to feel good about when you let it break and not hurt things or make it worse.”
Asked if the judge was injured, Boone said, “I don’t know how to answer that.”
“I do not have him in line [Friday]”I feel like he could probably play. We’ll have more assessments in 24 hours.”
Boone said he is also aware that it is still early April and if the judge is healthy for the rest of the season, this absence will be considered minor.
“The long game makes him disappear,” Boone said. “If he posts and goes out there and has the kind of season [where he plays] 140 or 150 times, they’ll crush him. ”
Because the 28-year-old judge has only had one of those seasons in his career, this is a big “if”. Meanwhile, the waiting game continues.