New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was placed on the injured list on Friday because of a strained calf, a recurrence of the same ailment that had sidelined him for two weeks earlier in the month. In fact, Judge had been activated from the shelf on Wednesday, and had taken only three at-bats before he was forced to depart a New York loss against the Atlanta Braves.
When Judge has been healthy, he's been one of the most productive hitters in the game. He exited Wednesday's contest hitting .292/.343/.738 with nine home runs and 20 runs batted in across 71 plate appearances. Unfortunately, Judge has missed a third of New York's games this season. That percentage will go way up over the coming days. The Yankees are scheduled to play 11 games, including three doubleheaders, between now and next Friday.
The Yankees have again been hit hard by injuries this season. They entered the weekend with Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and DJ LeMahieu -- their top three hitters -- all sidelined. Infielder Gleyber Torres is also on the injured list, along with starter James Paxton and reliever Zack Britton, who has recorded eight of the team's nine saves this season. To think, that's without mentioning Luis Severino and Tommy Kahnle, both of whom will miss the rest of the year, or third baseman Gio Urshella, who is considered day-to-day with a bone spur in his elbow.
In a corresponding move, the Yankees promoted veteran infielder Jordy Mercer to the majors. He appeared in three games with the Detroit Tigers this season before being released. Over parts of nine big-league seasons, he's hit .257/.315/.387 with 64 home runs.
The Yankees entered Friday's doubleheader against the New York Mets with a 16-11 record, good for second place in the American League East. The Tampa Bay Rays lead the division by 2 ½ games.
