Aaron Judge, who leads the American League in home runs this season, has been sidelined with an injury.
“Yankees slugger Judge and left-hander Nestor Cortes have both been placed on the disabled list,” MLB.com reported on Sunday. Judge injured his right big toe, while Cortes has a sore shoulder.
Jersey injured his toe while playing right field against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 4 when he ran into the fence in the bottom of the eighth inning while fielding a ball. He was forced to leave the game and eventually landed on the disabled list. It’s a big loss for the Yankees.
This is his second injury of the season. Judge was sidelined with a right hip strain in late April before returning to action against Oakland on April 9. He had since regained his batting touch and was batting .291 with 19 homers and 40 RBIs this season.
He was leading the American League in home runs, but that’s likely to change. Houston Astros slugger Jordan Alvarez and Los Angeles Angels two-hit 먹튀검증 wonder Shohei Ohtani are tied for second with 16 home runs apiece. These are hitters who have the ability to turn the tables when the jersey is off.
Judge signed a nine-year, $360 million extension with the Yankees this offseason. He captained the team and became a top franchise star. But he has been hampered by a string of injuries.
“The most important thing right now is to get the swelling out,” said head coach Aaron Boone, “I think it could have been worse, but I feel like he’s going to be fine. He’s just going to need some time,” Boone said.
Teammate Josh Donaldson wished Jersey a speedy recovery and said, “I hope we keep winning until he gets back.”
The American League home run leader has been hitting well of late, with five home runs in his last six games, but this unexpected injury could heat up the home run race.