Before fans could really even recover from the trauma that was the injury-plagued 2019 Yankee season, the 2020 season is off to a great start in triggering our PTSD.
Another injury blow has hit the Yankees. Is that a sentence we’re all familiar with or what? And sadly, we’re all too familiar with the player the injury is associated with.
An update has been made on right fielder, Aaron Judge, and the mysterious pain he’s had in his shoulder, then pec, then shoulder, and then back to pec. After what seemed to be two weeks of about one million tests, the Yankees have announced Friday that Judge has a stress fracture in the first rib on his right side, and will be shut down for two weeks.
Aaron Boone details the rib fracture that will keep Aaron Judge out of action: pic.twitter.com/Tv0dOxBDtj
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 6, 2020
According to Aaron Boone, a CT scan did show signs of healing, so shutting him down will see if that continues, and then they will reassess. However, the timetable for his return is still unclear, and Boone also did not rule out the possibility of surgery for Judge to either remove the rib or repair it.
Boone also stated he believes the injury dates back to one September night, on a dive in the outfield. What dive was it? The Yankees believe it’s this fly ball against the Angels on September 19th. You can see Judge grimace at the end of the play. Click here to watch.
Obviously, Judge has had an entire off-season, so the thought that he fractured it in September without the Yankees realizing it until now I’m sure is angering many fans. But what I think Boone is getting at, being the not-so-doctor that I am, it was most likely through his off-season workouts and then his on-field drills over the last few weeks have brought on a stress fracture after it was most likely compromised from that diving play in September.
Stress fractures tend to happen after repetitive impact, so the timeline could very well make sense.
What doesn’t make sense is why the Yankee keep getting hurt and why there seems to be no end in sight. Opening Day is quickly upon us and we will most likely be without all three starting outfielders along with star pitcher, Luis Severino, to Tommy John Surgery.
If history has shown, the Yankees can handle these hits, but one has to ask – how many more hits can a team possibly make? And, specifically, how many more can an Aaron Judge make before he’s pegged as the player that could have been…
Time will tell what the cards hold for Judge and the Yankees, but the doctors of the internet state fractures of the rib can either heal quickly or linger a very long time. So it’s safe to say we won’t have a timetable for his return until … well, he’s returned.
