New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has a bone bruise that is causing "nagging" soreness in his right shoulder and is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Guardians, manager Aaron Boone told reporters Tuesday.
Boone said an MRI revealed the injury in his upper right rib and that Judge would meet with doctors on Tuesday. The manager said it was impacting Judge's swing and was hopeful that it wouldn't be a long-term injury.
"He's been kind of the last couple of weeks kind of dealing with some shoulder soreness, just kind of more nagging," Boone said. "Then over the weekend, the last couple of games in Sacramento, I think it became a little more than just that, where I noticed with some swings and stuff. It became a little more than just nagging. I think it was affecting him."
Judge, the American League MVP in each of the last two seasons, is hitting .248 with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs this season. Over the last 15 days, however, he is hitting just .178 and has only one home run since May 11.
"Hopefully, it is something that we just get calmed down here and put it behind us," Boone said.
Judge won the batting title last season when he batted a career-high .331 with 53 homers and 114 RBIs in 152 games. He missed 10 games from July 26-Aug. 4 with a flexor strain in his right elbow sustained on a throw to home July 22 in Toronto. He underwent a plasma-rich injection and did not require offseason surgery, though he did not return to the outfield until Sept. 5.
When Judge was hurt last season, Giancarlo Stanton played 17 games in the outfield. Stanton has been out since April 24 with a strained right calf.
On Tuesday, Jose Caballero made his 22nd career start in right field and third since being acquired from Tampa Bay at the July 31 trade deadline.
Judge had started 52 of New York's first 59 games in right field. Rookie Spencer Jones made four starts in right field before getting sent down May 23 and Cody Bellinger has started two games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
