Aaron Judge should make spring training debut soon, per Yankees

New York Yankee’s right fielder Aaron Judge could possibly make his Spring Training debut next week.

Shoulder soreness

The 27-year-old had not swung a bat in spring training until recently. The team has kept him on close watch as he recovers from what they are calling right shoulder soreness.

Although, Judge says his shoulder is getting better by the day.

“It’s feeling great. Starting to swing again, which is a good sign,” Judge said. “I’m looking forward to my first game. I don’t know when that will be, but hopefully soon.”

Hopeful to return soon

Yankee’s Manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that the team hopes to have a little more certainty about Judge’s return after the off day on Monday. Boone said the team has been extremely careful with Judge’s soreness because there is no better time to be careful than in Spring Training.

“We’ve been treating him and making sure we treat it conservatively,” Boone said. “We want to make sure we get him in a really good spot before we kind of hit the ground running with him.”

Meanwhile, Judge has not expressed any concern about this affecting his start to the regular season.

“This is what spring training is for, to get yourself ready for the season,” Judge said. “Nobody ever wants to come into the season injured or banged up. So I’m going to take the time and get everything right now so come March 28th, we’re ready to roll.”

Judge has dealt with multiple injuries since entering the MLB in 2017. He has missed 110 games over the past two years. Judge underwent surgery on his left shoulder, suffered a fractured left wrist and a left oblique strain all in his professional baseball career.

Yankees nearing opener

The Yankees dropped their spring opener to the Blue Jays on Saturday, 2-1. The team opens up regular season on March 26 in Baltimore, Maryland, with the first game of a three-game series with the Orioles.