The bad news for the New York Yankees just keeps pouring in. It was discovered today that star outfielder Aaron Judge has a stress fracture in one of his ribs, and could miss significant time. The amount of time he will miss is based solely on whether or not surgery is needed.
Aaron Judge has a stress fracture in a rib. Yankees are going to try two weeks of rest but surgery is not off the table.
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) March 6, 2020
The injury to Judge may have stemmed from a diving attempt in the outfield late last season. It’s not clear how the Yankee’s medical staff missed the fracture, but stress fractures are known to be difficult to detect, especially depending on which part of the bone they occur.
If Judge has not miss any significant time, the Yankees will be down to just a few options in the outfield. Brett Gardner, Clint Frazier, and Mike Tauchman will likely end up being the starting outfield when Opening Day rolls around. Giancarlo Stanton is still fighting through a pretty nasty calf strain and it seems unlikely to be ready by the end of the month.
With all of that in mind, it’s not crazy to imagine the Yankees looking outside of the organization. Yasiel Puig is still out there looking for a job and could make a lot of sense for a team looking for a shorter deal. Puig could fill in nicely for a year if Judge’s issue needs surgery, and if Stanton continues struggling to stay healthy.
