The New York Yankees experienced a major scare on Thursday night when outfielder Aaron Judge was taken to the hospital after being hit by a pitch. Now New York will have to get used to life without him for a while.
On Friday, the Yankees placed the All-Star outfielder on the disabled list with a fracture in his right wrist. He is expected to miss at least three weeks.
Prior to tonight’s game, the @Yankees placed OF Aaron Judge on the 10-day disabled list with a right wrist fracture and recalled INF Tyler Wade from Triple-A @swbrailriders.
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) July 27, 2018
Across 99 games this season, Judge has slashed at .285/.398/.548 with 26 home runs and 61 RBI. His multi-week absence likely means he will fall short of 40-plus home runs this season after he hit 52 last year.
The loss of Judge’s bat could force the Yankees to pursue another bat on the trade market. Given their outfield depth, New York could explore designated hitters rather than an outfielder.
In a corresponding move, New York called up infielder Tyler Wade. The 23-year-old should provide the Yankees with depth in the middle infield and outfield while he is up.