Quick thoughts after Aaron Judge goes for an MRI on his abdomen

In unsurprising news, Aaron Judge is hurt more than the Yankees let on. This is just the way it is now. We have to assume every injury is worse than the Yankees say. Judge is dealing with an abdominal issue and it’s bad enough that he went for an MRI on Monday. It came back clean (so the Yankees say), though Judge acknowledged Opening Day could be in question.

"I'm pretty sure (I’ll be ready for Opening Day),” Judge told Bryan Hoch on Tuesday. “I don't want to speculate or talk about anything that hasn't come yet. The most important thing is taking some time now and be back out there soon."

Judge has a history of oblique injuries (2016 and 2019), though he clarified this injury is in the middle of his abdomen, not his oblique or intercostal. Still, those midsection muscles are all connected, and they’re all used to rotate during a swing and during a throw (have you ever pulled a muscle in your midsection? it can hurt just to breathe). They’re all very delicate, and a small injury can easily turn into a big injury if you overdo it.

“I’d rather take a couple of days now, when these games don’t matter, than miss some games in April or May,” Judge told Hoch while also indicating the toe injury might have messed up his swing mechanics and contributed to the abdominal injury. “... I think just from swinging from November all the way until now, every single day, it put some wear and tear on it. Especially coming back after a toe injury when your mechanics are a little messed up and you’re just working on some things.”

If Judge has to miss Opening Day, then he has to miss Opening Day. I’d rather he miss a few games early in the season than a lot of games later because he tries to play through this, or comes back sooner than he should. With Gerrit Cole sidelined, the Yankees have a much smaller margin of error. Losing Cole and Judge for a chunk of time would be a death knell. Not even the great Juan Soto could overcome that.

Judge missing regular season games would push Trent Grisham into center field full-time, upgrading the defense but downgrading the offense. It would also end any leadoff hitter debate (I’m not sure there even is a debate) and the top half of the lineup would almost write itself:

1. 3B DJ LeMahieu, RHB
2. RF Juan Soto, LHB
3. 2B Gleyber Torres, RHB
4. 1B Anthony Rizzo, LHB
5. DH Giancarlo Stanton, RHB
6. LF Alex Verdugo, LHB
7. C Austin Wells, LHB
8. SS Anthony Volpe, RHB
9. CF Trent Grisham, LHB

More left-handed hitters than right-handed hitters? I don’t even recognize this team anymore. Everson Pereira is the only other outfielder on the 40-man roster (unless you include converted infielders Oswaldo Cabrera and Jahmai Jones), though I’m not sure carrying him as the fourth outfielder is the best idea. Greg Allen has more of a fourth outfielder’s skill set and no one cares if he sits on the bench for a week.

I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. If Judge has to miss the start of the season, then he has to miss the start of the season, and we’ll deal with it when we get closer to Opening Day. For now, Judge is nursing an abdominal injury, and although he said he hopes he can resume swinging a bat later this week, we just don’t know. We are now firmly in “fingers crossed this is minor” territory.