Back in November, reigning AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP runner-up Aaron Judge underwent arthroscopic left shoulder surgery that "involved a loose-body removal and cartilage clean-up" according to the New York Yankees.
At the time of the surgery, the Yankees said Judge was expected to be ready for the start of spring training, and that was indeed the case. Judge reported to camp a week early and has been going through various defensive drills as well as hitting inside in the cage. On Monday he'll go out onto the field to take full batting practice for the first time like the rest of the position players.
Aaron Judge is healthy enough to hit on the field tomorrow during the first full squad workout, Aaron Boone said.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) February 18, 2018
Although Judge is healthy and recovered from his surgery, the Yankees are still planning to ease their 52-homer rookie into things this spring. New manager Aaron Boone acknowledged Judge may be held back in the first few Grapefruit League games just to make sure he doesn't overdo things. From Randy Miller of NJ.com:
"We'll as much as we can pull the reins on him a little bit," Boone said. "I've already talked to him and he's chomping to get out there. He just wants to get out and play, but we'll be smart with him and probably go slower than others, no doubt."
Judge understands.
"The shoulder feels good," he said "I think we're right on schedule with the progression that we set out after the surgery. But it feels good. The games that matter are in April, so if miss a couple games, which I will probably early in the spring, I'd rather miss those games than miss games in April."
Judge said the shoulder first started bothering him in the middle of last season, after crashing into the outfield wall trying to make a catch. He slumped terribly for a few weeks after the All-Star break but didn't use the shoulder as an excuse -- "I don't want to blame my shoulder. Like I said, I could go out there and play. If I'm willing and able and my body is able to play, it's all on me," he said to reporters -- even though the shoulder problem could've explained things.
Last season the 25-year-old Judge set a new rookie record with 52 home runs. He hit .284/.422/.627 overall despite authoring a .207/.359/.402 line in July and August. Judge rebounded to hit .311/.463/.889 in September with 15 home runs, his most in any month.
The Yankees will play their first Grapefruit League game on Friday, Feb. 23. It sounds as though Judge won't play in his first spring game until a few days later.
