The Los Angeles Dodgers recently had to make some changes to their lineup after Mookie Betts suffered a fractured left hand. Now, the New York Yankees might have to make similar alterations to their batting lineup after Aaron Judge took a 95-mph fastball to his left hand.
Judge’s incident came in the bottom of the third inning in Tuesday’s matchup against the Baltimore Orioles after Albert Suarez hit the Yankees slugger with a fastball that got a little too far inside. Judge took his base and remained in the game for a bit before later conceding and heading back to the dugout for good.
Here’s the play where Judge suffered an apparent injury.
The Yankees have not updated Judge’s medical status, so it’s impossible to know whether this absence only affects them in the short term or if it will linger into Wednesday’s Orioles matchup and possibly much longer.
Obviously, if Judge is forced to miss an extended amount of time, it would place more pressure on the rest of the Yankees to perform. It could also make them even more aggressive ahead of MLB’s July 30 trade deadline.
Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham would later replace Judge both in the lineup where he was hitting fourth and in center field. Considering he’s batting just .105 on the season, the Yankees can’t feel good about Grisham being anything more than a short-term fix.
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