NEW YORK _ Aaron Boone made out a lineup for the Yankees' game Sunday against Kansas City at the Stadium that looked right out of a split-squad game in Fort Myers, Fla., during spring training. It was his first lineup without Aaron Judge in it after the face of the franchise joined the swollen ranks of the injured.
Judge hurt his left oblique while taking a swing for a single in the sixth inning of Saturday's 9-2 win. Boone said Sunday morning that Judge has "a pretty significant strain in there." But the manager had no timetable yet for the right fielder's return.
"Not sure," Boone said, "because these next couple of weeks will kind of be a lot of just the healing process. So I think once we get through these first couple of weeks, then we'll have a better timeline for you. But it would be kind of vague right now.
The Yankees officially placed Judge on the 10-day injured list, giving them a staggering 13 players on that list. They recalled infielder Thairo Estrada for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace him on the roster.
Judge launched a rookie-record 52 homers in 2017 and 27 more last season when he missed 45 games after being hit by a pitch and suffering a chip fracture in his right wrist. Ironically, he also suffered that injury against the Royals. He had started every game in the 10-10 start before this strain happened and owned a slash line of .288/.404/.521 with five homers and 11 RBIs.
"It's undeniable arguing; I mean, this is one of the greatest players in the sport," Boone said. "All-around player; what he brings defensively; the way he runs the bases; obviously what he is offensively. So you miss that. That's huge. He'll continue to influence his teammates like he does."
The lineup included Brett Gardner batting third for the first time this season and Clint Frazier starting in right for Judge and batting fourth. The bottom five in the order had that Grapefruit League feel because of the injuries: Mike Tauchman, Gio Urshela, Mike Ford, Austin Romine and Tyler Wade, who opened at short but is also the fourth outfielder right now.
At least catcher Gary Sanchez is due back Wednesday if all goes well with his rehab game at Charleston Monday. Boone also provided positive progress reports on the injured Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, Aaron Hicks and Troy Tulowitzki.
"I'm looking forward to our guys coming back, no question," Boone said. "But also we embrace the opportunity, and the opportunity to have guys that can play a significant role stepping up and contributing. That excites me to a degree."
Boone's optimism was shining through despite the injuries.
"It's not an act up here," he said.
So would anything dim that optimism while making out the lineup?
"Yeah, if we weren't any good," Boone said. "But we've got good players in that room right now, and I think the proof has been in the pudding.
"The guys that have been pressed into more regular roles than certainly any of us expected at this point have been productive and have shown to be good players. And some of our young players who have very bright futures have stepped up and performed at a really high level."
