The Yankees had some relatively good news to share in regards to Aaron Judge and his "elbow issue."
Aaron Boone revealed on Saturday that Judge is suffering from a flexor strain, and on Sunday the Yankees officially placed him on the 10-day IL.
The good news is that the UCL is intact, meaning there is no tear in the ligament.
"Overall, we got some good news. It is going to require an IL stint with the thought it’s right about that 10 days and those few days coming off, probably in DH mode and then starting throwing in around then," Boone explained after Saturday's game. "And then hopefully, get back to the outfield shortly thereafter…as long as the symptoms are what they need to be."
Judge has already taken a PRP injection and will sit for a few days and then start swinging the bat again and see where they are at when they get to the 10-day mark. Boone is optimistic Judge could return in the minimum 10 days.
The Yankees skipper has already spoken with Giancarlo Stanton on potentially getting work in the outfield to see if he's an option when Judge returns. This week is when they'll start working that into Stanton's routine, but there's nothing imminent.
Judge was missing from Saturday's lineup and Boone said that the Yankees Captain had felt something in his elbow on a throw during the previous series against the Blue Jays in Toronto. After starting as DH on Wednesday and the off day on Thursday, New York felt as though Judge was fine, but the injury popped up again in Friday's loss.
"Just last night (he) was really dealing with it," Boone said prior to Saturday's game. "He couldn’t really throw well from the outfield."
Judge spoke to the media after the results came in and said that he felt something off in his elbow on a throw home, a play prior to the one he winced on. He's never had an elbow injury before and even tried to convince the team to let him avoid an IL stint so he can still bat. But the organization advised against it. Boone said that they didn't want to risk Judge injuring himself further by hitting and wanted to take care of the strain immediately.
"Throwing is the main concern. Hitting, it happens too quick and it’s not the motion where I haven’t felt anything," Judge explained. "The muscle that’s hurt is the muscle that’s used to grip. There might be some issue with that, but I’ve been hitting with it the last couple of days. If I can hit, I can be out there."
As for who will take Judge's spot on the roster, the Yankees have a few outfield options in Triple-A. Everson Pereira and Bryan De La Cruz are likely options as they are both right-handed, and then there's prospect Spencer Jones, who has been tearing the cover off the ball with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. However, Jones missed Friday's game with back spasms.
Despite that, it's unlikely the Yankees will call up Jones, as he's not on the 40-man roster and this would be a temporary stint that won't come with enough at-bats to justify the move.
Judge was asked about whether the team can withstand his absence and the AL MVP front-runner said he believes in his teammates.
"Guys are going to step up, that’s what it comes down to," Judge said. "I always go back to that 2019 team where I felt everyone got banged up and everyone stepped up and played bigger roles than what they signed up for coming into the season. I expect the same for guys… especially now in the second half, going to the end of the stretch. We have to make a push."
