A few injury updates from the American League:
- Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge wasn’t in their lineup against the Orioles on Wednesday because of soreness in his left side, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com writes. Manager Aaron Boone doesn’t seem all that concerned, as he said, “With the off day tomorrow I don’t want to take any chances.” Still, it’s notable in light of Judge’s extensive injury history. He missed a large amount of time in 2018 after suffering a fractured wrist on a hit by pitch, which was obviously just a bad break, but then sat out a combined 92 games from 2019-20 because of oblique, rib and calf problems. Judge has been excellent when healthy, though, and has begun this season with an eye-popping .364/.391/.636 line with two home runs in 23 plate appearances.
- Mariners center fielder Kyle Lewis is progressing in his recovery from a bone bruise in his right knee and could make his season debut during the team’s April 16-20 homestand, Corey Brock of The Athletic tweets. The injury has prevented Lewis from building on last season’s American League Rookie of the Year-winning campaign, in which he batted .262/.364/.437 with 11 home runs and five stolen bases over 242 plate appearances. The Mariners have mostly used Taylor Trammell in center during Lewis’ absence.
- Sticking with the Mariners, first baseman Evan White exited their game against the White Sox on Wednesday with tightness in his left quad, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. The team replaced White with Jose Marmolejos. White was off to a less-than-ideal start to the season even before the injury, as the 24-year-old has collected just three hits in 24 plate appearances and struck out seven times. The Mariners signed White to a six-year, $24MM extension before last season, but he wound up struggling to a .176/.252/.346 line with a 41.6 percent K rate in 202 PA as a rookie then.
- Orioles outfielder DJ Stewart might be back in their lineup this weekend, according to manager Brandon Hyde (via Joe Trezza of MLB.com). Stewart hasn’t played yet this year on account of a hamstring issue that has shelved him for a little over a month. The 27-year-old lined up in the corner outfield in all 31 of his appearances in 2020, and he put up an unusual .193/.355/.455 batting line with seven home runs 112 trips to the plate. Despite a low batting average and a 33.9 percent strikeout rate, Stewart’s ability to draw walks (17.9 percent) and hit for power (.261 ISO) carried him to an impressive wRC+ of 124.
Seeing his name in these injury posts gives me Judge dread.
Seems like he’s made out of glass.
Glass is too strong, actually he’s made out of peanut brittle.
Stop Judging him you guys!
The jury’s still out on his status as a contributing member of the New York Yankee professional ball club. He just needs to execute
COVID
What’s the over/under of games played for Judge? If I say 120 games
I’d take the under 120 for sure.
If he was completely healthy all season he still probably only plays 145 games (maybe more if you assume Stanton is hurt a lot and DH is available).
Now? Ugh, under.
While I know his current ‘injury’ is not that serious, what will the Yankees do when it comes time to extend Judge? I’m guessing they’re willing to go year to year through his last 2 arbitration years, but do they offer him a multi-year FA contract, or do they let him walk in free agency with a QO attached (if QO’s are still around with the new CBA)? I’d say it’s really hard to predict. He was once thought of as the future of the team; now I’m not sure he’ll be able to find more than a 3 year deal from anyone in FA. Such a shame as he has the talent to be one of the best all time; he just doesn’t appear to have the physical health to reach his full promise.
Unless he’s willing to take a very heavily incentive laden deal, I’d pass. I don’t even mean with crazy hard to reach incentives or anything either, just built around him being available to play.
I don’t think the Yankees pay up for either Judge or Sanchez when the time comes. Torres is probably a “maybe” as well. Judge is too big to stay healthy long term and by his early-to-middlw 30’s will either have to be a full time DH or a journeyman bouncing from team to team
Dave Winfield managed to stay mostly healthy and Judge is the same size. I am hoping he finds a strength and conditioning program that works a little better than currently
Winfield played 140+ games in 16 of his 22 seasons. Judge has done it once and honestly probably won’t play 16 seasons let alone 22. Winfield also checked in at about 60lbs lighter than Judge for most of that time too. The Yankees training staff has presided over what seems like the most injuries of any team over the past few seasons, that can’t be coincidence. Might be time for a new training staff
You’re about a year & a half too late.
Yanks brought in Eric Cressey after they set IL/DL records in ’19.
Fyi.
Dave Winfield played 3 sports and played them well. That is the right way to grow up as an athlete. Diversify while you are young and still developing. Today’s youngsters with their ridiculous helicopter fathers have a much higher tendency to focus on one sport. This is a huge mistake. i can’t speak to Judge specifically but Derek Jeter didn’t just play baseball growing up and he didn’t constantly break down as a professional baseball player. Again, it’s a guess with Judge, but it does happen a lot. The one sport focus when you’re young tends to lead to more injuries and a less likely pro ballplayer.
When my son was 11 his coaches kept asking me what sport he was going to focus on. 11!
Still plays football, hoops, & tennis & will be going pro in none of them but yeah…he’s in really good shape & has a lot of fun.
Good all Dad.
Well…he’s not a Giants (Seahawks…& we live in MN so…??) fan & he loathes baseball so I have obviously made some major mistakes along the way.
But I’ve always made a helluvan effort & he’s somehow a really good kid, so there’s that too.
I started my boy on roids when he was 15. Didn’t do any good . Still catches the ball with his face.
Turn him into a defensive end then.
I’m just here to help.
Obviously he’s smart too (Seahawks fan). Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Dave Winfield was 220 pounds into his mid-30’s. Judge has a good 60 pounds on him.
Meh. The Yankees can afford to pay him and will, just walking around money by New York standards, specially with red headed step brother in Queens nipping at their heels with outrageous spending. Even if he puts up pedestrian numbers and retires as a Bernie Williams type player, his marketing appeal as a face of the franchise is easily worth the paper.
I wouldn’t call him an all-time best just because of his late start had he stayed healthy. Any extension should be performance-based and I would go year-to-year with him.
Yeah I don’t think the Yankees will keep Judge. He will be a DH long-term, and with Stanton already getting paid $300 million, I don’t see how the Yankees could keep them both. The Yankees are better off spending that money to extend Torres.
The amount of injury news is breathtaking. Nonstop stories.
Judging by his history of IL stints the future looks oblique for Aaron.
Bleek.
BLEAK lol
Good one.
I just hate seeing any players on this injury roundup, but especially Judge. That dude could be an MVP if only he stayed healthy.
@Rangers29 you want Judge for Gallo?
Are you guys swapping baseball cards?
I wouldn’t do that. You’d be getting an Adam Dunn.
Oh, you.
Trying to get my Harold Baines card again, aren’t you.
An Adam Dunn that plays GG defense with a big arm and speed. Gallo is a 5 tool player, you know.
& here I thought you were talking about Judge.
Can I just mention how much I dislike the extra innings rule?
Because I do. A lot.
He’s more of a 4-tool player. Can play defense, runs pretty good, strong arm, light tower power, gold glove caliber defense in RF. Just can’t make contact consistently.
Judge has played a total of 63% of games careerwise. That’s not too good.
Judge is a credit to the game. A total class act. I wish he could stay on the field, he’s the type of player you can root for.
True Halo11, he’s certainly been the rule of role model we seem to need more of in professional sports.
His name should be Aaron Hurt
judge’s muscles seem too big for baseball player’s.
………….What?
Judge….the only guy who gets hurt after hitting a HR. He’s gotta grow a pair (of deeeeznutz) or go back to basketball he’d be great at flopping!
DJ is the man. Love that dudes attitude. Get well soon and get to mashin
Judge just started the NY marathon and he’s walking after a quarter mile? I know you feel the bridge shift from the weight of all the runners but it’s not like you stop running. Come on man, get across the bridge, onto 4th Avenue and get a pace going. No babies.
As a Yankee fan, I’ve had the good fortune of watching some really good outfielders play for my favorite club.
& Aaron Judge – solely basing it on pure talent – is as good as any of them. That’s a pretty hefty compliment as some of those players are in the HOF. But Judge is just as talented. He really is. Sure, he doesn’t have the postseason resume’ (yet) as some of those guys, but – hey – neither did Winfield.
But.
The injury stuff, man.
Some of it’s pretty understandable: hit by a pitch or cracking a rib on a diving catch. That stuff just happens, man.
There’s the other puzzling one’s though. Core & flexibility issues.
This is kind of endemic to modern baseball though. Ya know? Look, we just saw that Springer is dealing with a quad strain. A quad strain! That’s bonkers. Jeeez. Stretch out, bro. Some of these injuries just seem really avoidable.
I know you don’t get swole with pilates & stretching. I get it. That stuff doesn’t help the gun show.
But c’mon fellas. This is your damn job.
Anyway. Get better Judge. Soon. Please.
Oh, Ducky, what about sore wrists? I mean, here’s the true problem, imo. The new culture in sports is unbalanced; it’s one in which the players, especially the great ones like Judge, are babied. They’re pampered in every way. Managers, coaches, strength and conditioning help – they’re all too afraid to say, “Hey, man up fella, get out there and play. You’re needed by your team.” Nobody will do that because they’re too afraid of being blamed for any adverse consequence. I get it.
Now, the other side to that, is that the entire time, these guys are told, “well, how do you feel? Because it all depends on how you feel. If it hurts don’t do it; your health is most important” and many other truths. But unbalanced they’re left with, as soon as I’m uncomfortable, I say something, get my x-rays, MRIs, fly to NY and see Dr. Ahmed just in case there’s a TJ somewhere in there, and go to IL.
Just my opinion, you know what they say about those………
I think there’s a lot of mythology in diet and fitness. And baseball is full of mythology, that’s for sure. I never lifted weights much and yet I could do 50 pushups in one minute with an ex military trainer spotting me so they were legit. When I was pitching I had a routine that started in January after not throwing for 3+ months. It changed every two months. Less weight, more reps. My visualization was being past 20 pitches in an inning with men on base and you have to get that third out. I knew that situation well ;-( Form was essential throughout. I’m in my sixties and I’m still running for an hour six days a week. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t throw a pitch past a three year old, my arm is finally shot. But I was still throwing well into my fifties. I had a book by Tom House that was useful. Diet, I just loosely follow my dad’s diet from the American Diabetic Association. It helped him survive pancreatic cancer from the time I was 11 and made an impression. Small portions of lean meat, whole grains as much as possible, all the vegetables you can eat and some fruit. I still eat some bad stuff but I keep it in check. Sleep is a critical component ass well. I get 8 or I take a nap. There’s nothing to do after 8:00 anyway. I’m up at 5.
I’m not saying I have it all figured out or anything but I think there are a lot of charlatans in the sports business who are selling their methods. A lot of it is bullcrap. The basics have always worked for me. I went as far as I could with baseball, I was never going to be a pro but I would never have played into my 40’s without taking care of myself. That was what impressed my teammates more than my talent. Pitching wise, I was a dime a dozen. But I could run a marathon in under 4 hours, I did it twenty times. So there’s that.
I’m not saying Judge should become a runner! He’s bigger than I am by a lot and I’m feeling it now at 190 pounds. But maybe something is missing.
You’re not wrong, necessarily. Look at the guys’ physiques that are too performers and healthy….. like, ah, Freeman, or Zimmerman, Cutch, Gardy, Santana. And look at former players with most games played, even big guys like Cal Ripken ……
These guys were not jacked up. But everyone seems like they’re getting injured, ala Kettel Marte, etc etc.
I think the focus of strength and co Siri king MAY be on the wrong thing, and emphasize the wrong outcome. Now that Cressey is there let’s see if he can u die the years of damage these guys did to themselves to bench press more than the next guy. And trust me, as a fighter/wrestler, I get the strength and power aspects of lifting; but curls for the girls? Nah, just a waste of time.
I don’t know what the answer is here.
Is it pampering?
Or over training?
Too bulky? Not enough bulk?
Too much weight lifting? Not enough weight lifting?
I just don’t know. I’m not smart enough to figure it out. I’m a builder. Ask me about a construction project & – yeah – I can tell you how to build stuff. Ask me about biomechanics & – yeah – I can tell you how to build stuff.
Lotta these injury updates though. Can’t deny that. But I just don’t know why.
I once did an actuarial project on contractor Workers Compensation rates being based on hours worked instead of payroll. There was some intuitive sense to more hours meaning more exposure but I actually wondered about whether less hours would automatically make it that much safer. The flip side was that benefits related much more to payroll and that’s what you are purchasing.
The long and short of it is that I imagine you are safer when you’re working regularly and a reasonable number of hours than when it’s sporadic. I really think the last year has brought this on.
That’s a unique perspective on a general take we’ve seen a lot of. So that was cool.
I think a high number of us felt there was going to be an increase in injuries this year. It just seems…overwhelming? & a lot of big names.
I hope it doesn’t become *the* story of ’21 but we’re not off to a good start here.
Very few players his size succeed. A few exceptions are Howard and Winfield.
I see this particular take a lot.
There’s more of them too: Dunne, Bailor, Thomas. Those were all pretty big fellas that were durable & had long careers.
Here’s the thing though.
I’ve seen the inverse of this take too. Remember the rap on Betts? He’s so *little* he is going to “break down”.
Welll….which one is it then. Ya know?
It’s like the Goldilocks of baseball or something; “& this one is juuuuuuust right”.
Thomas ?
Frank ?
Here’s some other players taller than Judge: Andrew Miller, Doug Fister, Tyler Glasnow, Richie Sexson, Chris Young, Randy Johnson.
Here comes the judge……….
There goes the judge.
I give stanton until the end of April b4 hegows down
It’s a dumb trend. Predicting a talented player’s downfall based on some perceived flaw that will ultimately doom them. That way when it happens they can say “I told you so.” If it doesn’t happen they can say “I’m glad to be proven wrong.” It’s a very safe position to take. No matter what they’re “right” so to speak.
It shows weak debate & reasoning skills in my opinion, but near every commenter does it on these threads.
Spot on
If only there were sabremetrics that could accurately predict injuries.
Any back, leg, knee or torso injuries will reoccur.
That’s pretty much it. Along with plenty of strawman arguments.
This is a great point Aaron, and many of us fall victim to or engage at times with these conversations. But, you’re right nonetheless.
Look at the greats… Babe, Aaron, Pujols, Musial, ( you smell what I’m stepping in) obvious athletes and in shape… But they aren’t “cut” and have 6% body fat..,.. 162 games boys is alot in the middle of summer… Maybe get a little more “pudge” in you.. Stanton and Judge are absolute specimens but they aren’t HOF baseball players…. Should have went and played 16 games a year in the NFL
There are just as many ripped players who aren’t injury prone. You can’t assume that’s the reason. Injuries are a complete unknown, know one has figured it out yet, if they did they would prevent the actions that lead to the injuries
We gotta send Evan white down to aaa or he’s going to be ruined.
Right. He was brought up too soon cause he signed that contract. Defensively he has all the skills, but batting, he has a long way to go, and it doesn’t help that they keep batting him cleanup.
God the Orioles are already hard to watch this year. Mainly because their pitching is a dumpster fire. Armstrong and Valdez need to go
Valdez needs to go. Out to the Mound. Workhorse.
I can only hope you are not an O’s fan. Valdez, as Hyder just pointed out in his post-game is a great piece to have in the pen! He can do many things! John Means backed him up. Armstrong is solid when he’s right. Personally, I think he’s a little rusty from paternity leave. And If you can’t appreciate Tanner Scott’s stuff . . . . ♂️!
mgrap84: Be patient. The kids are coming up, probably next year. The O’s have some talented pitching working their way up.
The 1st place Orioles?
Ewww…
I’d personally love to see that team overachieve. But their +2 run differential says otherwise.
Suggesting the O’s will not overachieve because of a meager +2 run differential after playing all of six games would be akin to saying the Yankees will fail to make the playoffs this year because they are 1-3 in games decided by 2 runs or less.
People said the same in 2012 about the Orioles run differential.
Run differential is a good indicator of how good a team really is. Looking at it one week into the season is pointless.
Is mlbtrs still referring to andujar as “rookie of the year runner up”?
Stats fly forever.
Internet fist bump
Judge is injured?? Baseball season has now OFFICIALLY started! Welcome back
Too bad, premier player that just can’t stay healthy. If he wants the big money he needs to figure out how to stay on the field. If not, he will be Frailsbury the 2nd.
Tall and heavy position players rarely are much past age 30.