The New York Yankees offense has, quite frankly, been lost since losing Aaron Judge to a rib injury.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman spoke to the media on Thursday regarding several things, including Judge’s injury progression, and the update he gave should be concerning for Yankees fans.
Yankees don’t expect to get a clean MRI back
Cashman revealed to media members that Judge would have another MRI done during the MLB All-Star break, which will begin on Monday. He made sure to let the media members know that New York is not expecting Judge’s MRI to come back clean.
“I don’t think we’re anticipating that it’s coming back clean,” Cashman said, via Yankees insider Bryan Hoch. “I think we’re anticipating and hopeful that it’s showing the healing process.”
Judge has been out of action since June 1 with a rib injury.
Aaron Judge’s reimaging may determine the Yankees’ trade-deadline plans
If the reimaging done on Judge’s ribs comes back worse than expected, New York may need to enter the market for a blockbuster addition at the MLB trade deadline. Without the captain in the lineup every day, the Yankees offense has scuffled mightily, especially in the past 20 games, where it has averaged just 2.8 runs per game.
What are the realistic trade options?
New York desperately needs an upgrade at catcher, meaning a move for one of Ryan Jeffers or Hunter Goodman makes sense. As for an outfield upgrade, not many of the selling teams have much to offer up.
Jorge Soler, JJ Bleday, Jung Hoo Lee or Jake McCarthy could all be viable options, but none of those fill the void that the absence of Judge has left. Yankees fans will be clinging to hope that the reimaging on Judge’s rib comes back as good as it possibly can.