Aaron Judge Will Be 'Good to Go' on Opening Day Despite Feeling 'Under the Weather'
Aaron Judge may be a superstar athlete, in tip-top shape, but that doesn’t mean he’s immune to seasonal allergies.
The Yankees’ slugger was held out of the lineup on Monday afternoon, sitting out for the third straight game at the conclusion of spring training.
As much as panic ensued across the fan base, worries were wiped away when Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided good news later in the afternoon on the star’s status.
The skipper revealed that Judge was feeling “under the weather” in a live interview with the YES Network during New York’s final exhibition game. Sunday was a scheduled day off for Judge, but Monday he was kept on the sidelines since he wasn’t feeling well physically.
Shortly after Boone’s broadcasted presser, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman provided additional details on Judge's condition, walking through the challenges of COVID-19 protocols.
“Any little issue that's conveyed, you react a little larger to,” Cashman said in a Zoom call. “We just sent him through all the protocols and thankfully we've eliminated all the stuff other than the fact that every now and then you can come up with not feeling really well. But he's fine. I talked to him on the phone and thankfully he was smart enough to share ‘hey, I just didn't wake up feeling all that great.’”
As for Judge’s status ahead of Thursday’s opening day back in the Bronx, Cashman and Boone both expect the slugger to be starting in right field as the regular season begins.
“He should be good to go,” Boone told reporters after the game.
Cashman added that the pollen down in Tampa can be “pretty bad” this time of the year, saying other players on the Yankees had been impacted by seasonal allergies throughout the spring as well. Mix those symptoms in with an ongoing pandemic, and the organization had to take the necessary precautions just in case.
“You just run through the protocols to make sure you're not in a worse spot and thankfully we're not,” Cashman said. “Obviously when someone like [Judge] is expected to be in a lineup and then is not, it's gonna raise the appropriate questions and concerns. So that's what we're dealing with.”
Judge projects to hit second in New York’s lineup on Thursday, starting in right field.
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