ARLINGTON, Texas — Yankees captain Aaron Judge remains sidelined with a mild hip strain, and a decision on whether he requires a stint on the injured list likely won’t come until Monday, manager Aaron Boone said.
“I know he came in feeling a little bit better today,” Boone said Sunday. “I’m sure he’ll go through everything, and we’ll evaluate where we are.”
Boone said Judge will “probably not” do any baseball-related activities Sunday. He doesn’t expect him to return to the lineup Monday when the Yankees open a three-game home series against Cleveland.
Boone said the best-case scenario, if Judge avoids the IL, would be returning sometime during the Cleveland series.
Judge, the reigning AL MVP, hasn’t played since coming out of the series opener against the Texas Rangers on Thursday night, when he was replaced in right field in the bottom of the fourth inning after striking out in his only two at-bats. That came a day after he landed awkwardly on his right side when trying to steal third base at Minnesota on his 31st birthday.
Judge, who produced a single-season AL-record 62 home runs last season, is hitting .261 with six homers and 14 RBIs in 26 games this season. He had played in every Yankees game until being out of the lineup Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
In other injury news, outfielder Jake Bauers and the team are awaiting MRI results. Bauers, who was added to the 26-man roster Saturday, sustained a right knee contusion when he slammed into the left-field wall while making a catch.
“I’m walking pretty good, walking pain-free,” Bauers said. “The only thing that’s keeping my range of motion down is the swelling, so I’m sure today we’ll try to get all of that out of there.”
New York is already without outfielders Giancarlo Stanton (left hamstring strain) and Harrison Bader (left oblique strain), and third baseman Josh Donaldson (right hamstring strain). All are on the IL, along with six pitchers.