Injury - Baseball Wiretap

Aaron Judge's fractured rib showed healing in new imaging this week, hough not enough progress for the three-time MVP to resume baseball activities. The New York Yankees said Judge will continue rehab and undergo further imaging as he works toward a return.

Judge and manager Aaron Boone both expressed confidence he'll play again this season, speaking ahead of Friday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"Yeah, definitely," said Judge. "I don't see why not."

"I feel good about the fact that he'll be back," said Boone. "It's just a matter of when."

With the Yankees opening their post-All-Star break schedule and the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaching, Judge's timeline remains uncertain. He said he is waiting to hear back from Dr. Gregory Pearl, a Texas-based vascular surgeon reviewing his imaging, after being referred by Yankees team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad. His most recent imaging took place Monday.

Judge acknowledged frustration with the pace of his recovery despite feeling significantly better.

"That was my big complaint," said Judge. "If I'm feeling better, how about we start moving? But I think they just don't want to start adding baseball activities and other stuff and all of a sudden we have a setback and it pushes everything back. So I think they just want to be sure that it's healing up the right way so that we can get back as soon as we can."

Judge, 34, has not played since May 31. He believes he suffered the stress fracture during an April 26 game in Houston while attempting a diving catch to avoid colliding with second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. He tried to continue playing through the injury before the pain became unmanageable during a series in Sacramento, California.

Since landing on the injured list June 5, Judge has paused most workouts, though he has recently begun some lower-body exercises. He described the experience of missing games as difficult.

"It's been the worst," said Judge. "I want to play. That's why I'm here. That's why I get paid, to play big games for the Yankees. Especially with the team we have, how special it is, and how special the group is. I want to be a part of everything."

Judge has appeared in 59 games this season, batting .248 with 17 home runs, 38 RBIs and a .907 OPS, though his production dropped sharply after May 7. Over his final 22 games before landing on the injured list, he hit just .207 with two home runs.

Judge previously suffered the same rib injury in September 2019 on a similar diving play. The Yankees have gone 18-19 without him in the lineup this season and entered Friday three games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt remain the only regular Yankees hitters posting above-average offensive numbers during Judge's absence.

Both dugouts and bullpens emptied onto the field Sunday after a Lucas Erceg pitch struck Baltimore Orioles infielder Blaze Alexander on the left hand during the seventh inning of Baltimore's 8-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. Alexander suffered a non-displaced fracture as a result.

Alexander took several steps toward first base and shouted at Erceg before Orioles manager Craig Albernaz restrained him from approaching the mound. Players and pitchers from both teams rushed onto the field during the commotion, though no punches were thrown and no one was ejected.

Albernaz addressed the injury's impact on his roster ahead of Baltimore's return from the All-Star break.

"Definitely a gut punch," said Albernaz, referencing the team's upcoming series against Houston on Friday without Alexander available.

Alexander leads the Orioles with a .312 batting average and was not made available to reporters following the game. Erceg maintained the pitch was unintentional, despite the fact that the previous batter, Samuel Basallo, had just homered to extend Kansas City's deficit to 8-2.

"There's no ill intent. That's baseball," said Erceg. "I mean, guys are going to get hit, and you have to, I guess, kind of understand the situation. I understand why he's mad. Obviously, you don't ever want to get hit, especially in the hand. So sorry about that."

Erceg acknowledged his own difficult season while addressing the incident.

"I've got like a 5-something ERA," said Erceg. "I mean, I'm not going out there to hit guys and put guys on and give up homers and this and that."

The loss dropped Kansas City to a season-high 21 games under .500 at 38-59, marking the team's eighth sweep of the season, the most in the majors. The Royals have now lost five straight games entering the All-Star break.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro described the mood surrounding his team's recent struggles.

"Frustration is one word. Disappointment, anger," said Quatraro. "You know, every emotion that you can think of we're battling, not getting any results and it stinks."

Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski has been scratched from his scheduled start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday because of arm fatigue and will also miss the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy announced the decision Saturday after the NL Central leaders were swept by the Pirates in a doubleheader.

"He didn't recover well from his last start, and his throwing program was clunky today, so we're just going to give him some extra rest," Murphy said.

Shohei Ohtani was scratched from his scheduled pitching start Friday because of continued irritation in his left knee, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced roughly six hours before first pitch. Ohtani will still serve as designated hitter for the weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Ohtani will not join his teammates at the All-Star Game following the series. The Dodgers said in a statement that he will instead undergo interventions on his knee to prepare for the second half of the season.

A source told ESPN that Ohtani is expected to have the knee drained and likely receive an injection. He will not undergo surgery, according to the source.

Ohtani first left a June 11 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates early because of irritation in the same knee, which underwent surgery in September 2019 to address a congenital condition called bipartite patella. He has managed the issue since taking the following day off.

Ohtani, who turned 32 five days ago, had also dealt with a blister on his pitching hand and tightness in his right bicep earlier this season. Both issues have since subsided.

Ohtani is slashing .290/.405/.534 with 20 home runs and six stolen bases. He has gone 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA across 14 starts on the mound.

The Dodgers will use a bullpen game Friday in Ohtani's absence.

Aaron Judge will have his injured rib re-examined during the All-Star break, with the New York Yankees hoping the results show progress in his recovery. General manager Brian Cashman addressed the outfielder's status Thursday.

Judge has not played since May 31 and landed on the injured list June 5 with a stress fracture in his right rib. The diagnosis followed a CT scan, an MRI and a consultation with a specialist.

"I don't think we want to put him at risk of coming back while still injured," said Cashman. "He should be asymptomatic before we turn him loose.

"If he's asymptomatic and not feeling anything and [medical images] are showing healing, then it's probably appropriate to get him going again. But we don't want to, because the schedule is what it is, put him in a position where we're putting him in jeopardy where it somehow gets worse."

Cashman said the injury has limited Judge's ability to train his upper body, since he cannot place stress on his rib cage. New imaging will offer a clearer picture of where he stands in his rehab process.

The Yankees have gone 15-19 without Judge in the lineup, including a 12-4 win over the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.

Cashman also provided an update on Giancarlo Stanton, who has been sidelined since April 24 with a right calf injury. Stanton suffered a new strain to the same calf, setting back his timeline, though he has resumed running.

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin will miss eight to 10 weeks with a left ring finger injury, the team's senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk told reporters Tuesday, deepening the club's growing injury concerns.

Griffin had rejoined the Pirates just two weeks earlier following a monthlong absence caused by a right elbow strain. The rookie sustained damage to the sagittal band in his finger, which Tomczyk described as thick fibers that support and reinforce the extensor tendon.

Tomczyk said Griffin will wear a splint for six weeks before doctors reassess his recovery timeline.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony has dealt with a separate finger tendon injury since early May, though Tomczyk noted the cases are not directly comparable. Former White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson offers a closer parallel, having suffered a similar sagittal band injury in 2022 that sidelined him for roughly six weeks.

Griffin has hit .276 with a .736 OPS, 10 doubles and five home runs across 59 games since making his major league debut in early April.

Pittsburgh selected Griffin ninth overall in the 2024 MLB Draft. Griffin signed a nine-year, $140 million contract extension with the organization in April.

The setback adds to a lengthy injury list for the Pirates (46-45), who currently sit in fourth place in the National League Central and three games behind a wild-card spot. Outfielder Oneil Cruz and first baseman Spencer Horwitz remain sidelined with fractured fingers and a hamstring strain, respectively.

Aaron Judge is approaching four weeks since going on the injured list with a stress fracture of his right rib, but the New York Yankees captain has yet to have updated scans.

"I've got nothing for you," Judge said Wednesday before the Yankees faced the Tigers. "You know how it goes around here -- guys can feel good, feel bad, but you've got to wait on images. I'll give you a good update when we get some imaging."

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker was removed from Monday's game against the Minnesota Twins in the second inning because of low back spasms.

Tucker walked with one out in the second and ran lightly to second base on Tommy Edman's single to right field. Then, Tucker was replaced by pinch runner Alex Call. Tucker stayed in the dugout, standing up next to dugout fence before heading into the clubhouse after the inning was over.

Justin Verlander will be sidelined for weeks with a left hamstring strain just days before the 43-year-old was set to return for the Detroit Tigers from a separate injury.

Verlander had been on the injured list since April with left hip inflammation and was scheduled to start Sunday before sustaining the hamstring injury during a bullpen session Wednesday.

"This is not a matter of days," said AJ Hinch. "It's a matter of weeks. We're going to need a full rehab process to get him back to throwing again. Obviously, frustrating news for him and for us, given the excitement that was building around his start on Sunday."

Verlander described the injury as sudden, cutting short a bullpen outing that had otherwise gone well.

"My hip actually feels fairly good," said Verlander, according to MLB.com. "All of a sudden, my hamstring was bugging me and I had to cut my bullpen short. Anytime I'm not able to get my work in, it means something's definitely off, so we decided to get it looked at, and there's a strain. Just really unfortunate, man. It just sucks. I don't know how else to say it."

The three-time Cy Young winner and 2011 American League MVP is the oldest active player in MLB. In his lone start this season, Verlander allowed five runs and six hits over 3⅔ innings in a loss at Arizona.

Detroit also placed outfielder Wenceel Perez on the injured list with facial fractures after he was struck by an exercise band that came unhooked during a postgame workout in Houston.

The Los Angeles Angels placed center fielder Mike Trout on the 10-day injured list Thursday with a right hamstring strain, ending a stretch in which the veteran had appeared in 74 of the team's 75 games this season.

Trout said he hurt the hamstring running to first base during Wednesday's win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, a game in which he hit a home run and drove in three runs.

The 34-year-old told reporters he has no set return timeline but expressed optimism about a brief absence.

"From last night to today, it's a night and day difference, so that's positive for me," Trout told reporters, per MLB.com. "I was a little worried last night, but had a plane ride and just sitting down after playing, so that kind of came into effect. But feels way better today, so. I'm not overly concerned about it, but I'm going to do everything I can, in that training room and the weight room to get back."

Trout is batting .234 with 17 home runs, 36 RBIs and an American League-best 54 runs scored this season. His 66 walks rank second in the majors. The three-time AL MVP and 11-time All-Star has not appeared in more than 130 games in a single season since 2019.

In All-Star fan voting through Sunday, Trout ranked second among AL outfielders with 926,601 votes, trailing only New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who is also currently on the injured list.

Jose Siri is expected to handle center field duties during Trout's absence. In a related move, the Angels recalled infielder Christian Moore from Triple-A Salt Lake. Moore is hitting .333 with nine home runs and 45 RBIs at the minor league level this season.