Latest Aaron Judge update sounds unwisely optimistic from Yankees

Yankees star Aaron Judge may have avoided serious injury this season, but fans are still following his situation on high alert.

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge had to exit Thursday’s game against the Rangers early, immediately sending waves of panic throughout the Tri-state area.

The Yankees slugger underwent an MRI on his right hip on Friday, and the team has since announced that Judge’s condition doesn’t seem to warrant a stint on IL. Judge isn’t completely out of the woods yet, though, and manager Aaron Boone told the media that they’re still in the process of assessing Judge’s health status.

Per Boone, the Yankees are going to take a couple of days to monitor Judge’s hip before deciding whether to place him on the injured list.

The Yankees will likely make a decision on Monday, as they can backdate the potential IL stint to Friday to prevent Judge from missing more time than he needs to.

Yankees are hopeful that Aaron Judge doesn’t need to go on IL

Judge hasn’t participated in any workouts since leaving the game on Thursday, but if his health improves, he should resume hitting in no time.

The team will probably continue holding him out of activities out of extra caution; in Judge’s absence, the Yankees’ options at outfield don’t look very appealing.

Judge was replaced in right field by Oswaldo Cabrera in the fourth inning of Thursday’s game, and moving forward, Boone may also lean on Aaron Hicks and Willie Calhoun, especially with Jake Bauer’s debut stunted by injury before he even took an at-bat.

New York was already experiencing offensive issues with Judge in the lineup, and losing its team captain no doubt serves as a blow to general morale as well. Judge was slashing .261/.352/.511 prior to his injury and notched six homers.

Expect more crucial updates on Judge’s health this week.