The biggest bomber in the Bronx had surgery Monday to fix a banged up shoulder. Yet, even though the Yankees were likely the only ones to know about it, it shouldn’t be anything to fret about.
Aaron Judge had a historic 2017 season, winning the Rookie of the Year and putting up possibly the best numbers in a player’s first full season. But what was most impressive was staying on the field – he played in 155 games for the Yankees.
Now, just a few weeks after the season concluded, the organization surprised fans by notifying them that the superstar outfielder underwent shoulder surgery Monday. Aaron Judge expects to return by Spring Training.
Fans may be a bit skeptical, considering the former Fresno State product let the issue fly under the radar. But there isn’t much reason to worry. Most patients that undergo a similar surgery take no more than a few months to fully recover from this type of surgery, per orthoinfo.org.
However, New York is stamping the “fragile” sign onJudge. The front office expressed that it will be cautious, just to ensure he does not suffer any other issues during his recuperation. No one in the organization wants him to suffer what Giancarlo Stanton dealt with season after season.
Come March; the Yankees won’t need Judge to prove himself like he had to this past season. He’s clearly the face of the organization now. Thus, he can lay low during the offseason – and preseason – and not exert a substantial amount of energy.
And if for some reason, he sat out a few games in the regular season, the Baby Bombers (or back to Bronx Bombers?) would be fine. The outfield still has four decent guys in Aaron Hicks, Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury and Clint Frazier. Matt Holliday probably won’t be back, either, so Judge can fill in at designated hitters on some days if necessary.
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This is all precautionary, but it will likely be unnecessary by the time he recovers. But to protect such a promising player, should the new manager limit the slugger to a certain amount of games?
Probably not, since he didn’t have any lingering health issues in the minors and sat out in fewer than 10 games this year. That was with a mild-injured shoulder, too.
Fans can expect to see Judge play in a majority of games next year. However, fans shouldn’t expect the same amount of production from him.
And the worst thing fans can do is to expect even more from Judge in the upcoming season. That’s not because of the sudden injury. Rather, because it’s highly unlikely, he can recreate the special season once again. He did lead the league in strikeouts by the way.
There is no cause for concern just because no one outside of the organization knew of the injury before Tuesday. Breathe, Yankees fans. Breathe.
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But still, expect a slight regression in Judge’s numbers come next season. I’m not sure the Home Run Derby winner can top 51 bombs next season. But fans sure hope so.