Yankees officially place Aaron Judge, Nestor Cortes on injured list
Slugger Aaron Judge is headed to the injured list with a contusion and sprained ligament in his right big toe, manager Aaron Boone announced after Tuesday’s loss to the Chicago White Sox.
While no moves have been officially made, the news came after Judge met with Dr. Christopher Ahmad on Tuesday night. Judge, who received a PRP shot, sustained the injury while making a gate-breaking catch at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.
Boone added that Judge doesn’t have a fracture in his toe.
“The biggest thing now is trying to get the swelling out of there,” Boone said. “Had some improvements today, but now we’ll just see where we are in the coming weeks or days.
“It definitely could have been worse. Feel like he’s gonna be all right, just need some time now. Hopefully it’s on the shorter side of things.”
This will be Judge’s second stint on the IL this season, as he missed 10 games with a hip strain. Boone didn’t have a timeframe for Judge’s impending trip to the IL.
“Obviously, we’ve been down some key guys,” Boone said, alluding to the Yankees’ frequent injury woes. “We’ve seen a lot of guys step up, and it’s another opportunity for someone to step up, and that’s all we’ll do. We’re gonna go out and play our game and expect to still go out there and rack up victories. That’s the focus. That’s the goal. Nothing changes. Obviously, we hate being without Aaron for any amount of time, but it’s part of the game sometimes, and we’ll manage.”
Ahmad also met with pitchers Nestor Cortes and Ryan Weber on Tuesday. Cortes was already expected to go on the IL, but he was diagnosed with a shoulder strain and won’t throw for 15 days after receiving his own shot.
The southpaw has had a hard time recovering in between starts, and soreness persisted to the point that he had to tell the Yankees about the problem in Los Angeles.
“I think it’s general wear and tear,” Cortes said when asked what caused the issue. “I mean, we could sit here and try and nitpick everything, but I think just pitching and trying to get the ball every five days and going out there and competing, that’s basically it.”
Cortes added that it was a “bummer” that he has to miss a few weeks, as he felt he was starting to pitch well despite some struggles toward the end of his starts.
Weber was diagnosed with a UCL strain after landing on the IL while in Los Angeles.
“Now it’s a matter of course of action,” Boone said of Weber. “It’s gonna be rehab, time down, surgery is on the table. But no decision on that.”
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