Yankees’ Aaron Judge Heading To Injured List With Perplexing Injury

The New York Yankees have floated around the middle of the pack in the American League East throughout 2023, unable to pull in front of the surging Tampa Bay Rays and scrappy Baltimore Orioles.

It doesn’t appear as though they’ll be moving up anytime soon, though.

The Yankees placed All-Star pitcher Nestor Cortes on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday with a strain in his throwing shoulder, while reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge is heading for the 10-day IL with an injured big toe, according to ESPN’s Joon Lee.

Judge’s injury is being described as a bruise and ligament sprain in his right big toe and was suffered on Saturday at Dodger Stadium. The 6-foot-7 outfielder crashed through the right-field wall with his upper body and kicked a concrete base while pursuing a J.D. Martinez fly ball to the warning track. He finished the game but hasn’t played since.

“The biggest thing now is trying to get the swelling out of there,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, per Lee. “He had some improvements today, but now we’ll see where he is in the coming days and then week. But the biggest thing is getting the swelling out of there.”

The move of Cortes was expected, but Judge’s placement on the injured list continues what has been a frustrating season for him and the Yankees when it comes to injuries.

Judge has continued to play at an MVP level, slashing .291/.404/.674 with 19 home runs and 40 RBIs in 49 games, but has already been on the IL once in 2023 with a right hip strain. His absence leaves the Yankees’ outfield quite a baron as it coincides with that of Harrison Bader, while Giancarlo Stanton is no longer an option in the outfield and Aaron Hicks was recently DFA’d.

New York rolled with Jake Bauers, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Willie Calhoun on Tuesday, while Oswaldo Cabrera sits on their bench. The Yankees could also look to former Boston Red Sox outfielder Franchy Cordero to replace Judge on the roster as he sits in Triple-A.