LOS ANGELES — Aaron Judge’s latest defensive gem came at a cost.
The reigning AL MVP sat out the Yankees’ 4-1 win over the Dodgers on Sunday with a sore right big toe after he banged it against the concrete at the base of the right-field fence while making a spectacular running catch in Saturday’s game at Dodger Stadium.
Judge is set to undergo a battery of tests on Monday in New York, including X-rays, but he did not rule out needing a stint on the injured list.
“I really don’t care at this point,” Judge said before the Yankees flew home. “If I’m on it, I’m on it. But I’m trying not to be. Who knows? I’ve got no answer yet. I’m hoping today and [Monday] having a little bit of rest, we’ll be good to go hopefully on Tuesday. But we’ll take it day-to-day right now.”
Asked if he felt like he had a broken toe, Judge said it was “tough to say.”
“I’ve never broken a toe,” he said. “We’ll see what the tests say. I don’t want to throw anything out there just yet.”
Manager Aaron Boone said after the game that he would not have used Judge off the bench, as the star slugger was instead receiving treatment throughout the day.
Judge appears to have avoided any serious upper-body injuries despite slamming his shoulder into the chain-link portion of the fence, which provided some give, but his toe was not as fortunate.
After Saturday’s game, Judge had insisted in his postgame session with reporters that he was “feeling fine,” but he may not have let on just how hard his foot banged into the cement.
“It was kind of bad all the way through,” Judge said Sunday. “I think once the adrenaline kind of wore off, it does get a little worse and a little bit of swelling. It’s part of it.”
Judge missed 10 games on the IL earlier this season with a hip strain, during which the Yankees went 4-6.
But he had been on a tear since coming back, hitting .325 with 13 home runs and a 1.313 OPS in 23 games, not to mention some terrific defense in right field.
But the Yankees were left holding their breath on Sunday, hoping that Judge’s highlight-reel catch on Saturday will not cost him an extended stretch.
“We’ll do a bunch of tests,” Judge said. “Hopefully have a better answer for what’s going on on Tuesday when we get in.”
