Yankees' Aaron Judge expected to be ready for spring training after shoulder surgery

Judge underwent the arthroscopic procedure on his left shoulder on Monday

The Yankees announced on Tuesday that slugging outfielder and AL Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge is recovering from shoulder surgery. Here's the club's full statement: 

OF Aaron Judge underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder yesterday.  The procedure involved a loose-body removal and cartilage clean-up, and was performed by Dr. Neil ElAttrache in Los Angeles at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic.

The anticipated recovery time will be completed in advance of the start of spring training.

The key takeaway is that Judge is expected to be ready for spring training. As such, his 2018 season should not be affected, barring setback. 

Judge is coming off a 2017 season in which the 25-year-old batted .284/.422/.627 (171 OPS+) with an AL-leading 52 home runs in 155 games. He finished second to Houston's Jose Altuve in the AL MVP balloting.  

Judge dealt with shoulder issues this past season, but he downplayed the significance in his public comments. In light of this news, it seems likely he was hurting more than he let one. Whatever the case, the malady didn't prevent Judge from authoring one of the most impressive rookie seasons in MLB history.