Aaron Judge revelation is cure to Yankees’ abrupt anguish
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Considering everything that has happened, including a difficult 10-inning loss on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium to the lowly Royals, the Yankees are heading into Memorial Day having weathered a terrific storm of injuries and will be toting an impressive 34-18 record back to Yankee Stadium to play the Padres.
Finally, there is some good news coming over the injury horizon.
Aaron Judge is feeling pain free after suffering a serious left oblique strain on April 20 against these Royals, and if all continues to go well in his recovery he could be back on a solid baseball course after being sidelined for so long.
“When I get home I’m going to start hopefully swinging, and then go from there,’’ Judge told The Post after Sunday’s 8-7 loss to the Royals, a game in which the depleted Yankees battled back from a 7-1 deficit only to lose on a two-out, bad-hop single by Whit Merrifield that got past Gio Urshela at third base and scored speedster Billy Hamilton from second.
That was the first loss on the trip for the Yankees after six wins away from home and seven straight victories overall.
“I will probably start with dry swings and tee,’’ Judge said. “But it just depends on the progression they have me on. Hopefully, once I start swinging we’ll see how that feels, then we will have a better timetable on when I can return.
“I’m pain free right now.’’
That is the best news of all for the Yankees.
Judge is the heart and soul of this team and when he does return it will be a huge boost in right field and to the lineup.
Certainly, it will take time for Judge to get back if all continues to go well and there are no setbacks, but at least there is some light at the end of the injury tunnel. A few weeks ago, Judge said it was still painful whenever he did something as simple as sneeze. Being pain free is clearing a huge hurdle.
It was noticeable here the past few days that Judge was feeling much better as he was back to joking more with teammates and being more visible on the field in pregame and even doing some baseball activities like throwing. At one point over the weekend he was mimicking his swing in left field (without a bat in his hands) and even made a little bat-flip motion as he imagined hitting one out of the ballpark.
When Judge returns, the Yankees will be that much stronger as a team. Clint Frazier had three hits Sunday but continues to have misadventures in right field.
Shortstop Didi Gregorius continues to make huge strides and could return after this upcoming homestand. When Judge gets clearance to begin baseball activities in earnest, his return could come quickly once he gets his timing back.
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Aaron Boone has been a magician utilizing the players he has at his disposal. The Yankees are nearly at the one-third point in the season and Boone said this of his team: “We got a good team, we got a really good team, we have the chance to have a special team. It’s really early in the season though. … You got to just keep moving on and keep playing good baseball.’’
As for the positive news on Judge, Boone said, “He continues to feel good and we are probably getting to that point where he starts ramping up some baseball activities.’’
Judge is thrilled with how the Yankees have played in his absence, saying, “The guys have really stepped up.’’
If nothing else, this has been a tremendous learning experience for young players like Frazier, who collected three hits Sunday and is batting, .275. In the third inning Whitfield lifted a fly ball toward the right-field corner. Frazier was there in plenty of time but the ball clanked off his glove.
“He’s had some drops that hopefully are something over the long term will be a little bit of an aberration,’’ Boone said.
Whenever Judge does return, the Yankees defense will improve tremendously in right field. After so much time away, he can take some significant steps forward this homestand.
