Yankees’ Aaron Judge Provides Major Update on Injury

The entire city of New York collectively held their breath on Tuesday night when All-Star slugger Aaron Judge was hit by a 94 mph fastball against the Baltimore Orioles that ultimately forced him out of the eventual Yankees’ 4-2 win.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone declined to provide any information on Judge’s X-rays or CT scan after the game, but Judge then spoke to reporters and provided an update himself.

Judge said both the X-rays and CT scan came back negative, and called it good news. He said it’s possible he may not miss any time, and added, “I told Boone I want to be in there tomorrow, so we’ll see.”

The entire city of New York can now take a collective sigh of relief, then, as the American League MVP favorite appears to have avoided serious injury. Just two days ago, the National League MVP favorite, Mookie Betts, had a nearly identical situation when he was hit by a 98 mph fastball. Unfortunately for Betts, that pitch fractured his hand and he will now miss six-to-eight weeks of action, according to manager Dave Roberts.

Read more: Mookie Betts’ Injury Deals Serious Blow to Dodgers; What’s Next for the MVP Runner-up?

Judge and the Yankees received a much better prognosis, and it appears their superstar won’t have to miss much time, if any.

That’s great news for the Yankees, who have the best record in Major League Baseball in large part because of Judge’s play this season.

Including his two plate appearances on Tuesday, Judge is slashing .302/.428/.687 with 26 home runs, 64 runs batted in, 22 doubles, and an incredible OPS of 1.115. He has a 4.9 fWAR (Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement), which is the best in baseball, ahead of the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson, who has a 4.7 fWAR.

The Yankees’ 4-2 win over the Orioles on Tuesday moved them to 51-24 on the season, and gave them a 2.5 game lead over Baltimore in the AL East. More importantly, though, it didn’t take out their best player and MVP frontrunner, who’s hoping to be right back in the lineup on Wednesday night for the second game of the series.

That game will feature another major storyline, as reigning AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole is making his 2024 debut. Cole, who’s dealt with elbow nerve inflammation since spring training, will be joining a deep Yankees rotation that has been the best in baseball, even without their ace.

It remains to be seen if Judge will be in the lineup for Cole’s debut, but either way, it appears the Yankees avoided the worst with their superstar outfielder.