MLB: Aaron Judge probably only fit for the opening day after shoulder surgery

After his shoulder surgery in the off-season, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year, Aaron Judge, will probably not be fully fit again until the opening day at the end of March. Nevertheless, his debut in a jumping training game for the New York Yankees is imminent.

“It’s an ongoing process until opening day,”Judge told reporters on Monday. The Yankees open their season on 29. March at the Toronto Blue Jays.

In November, the Yankees announced that Judge had undergone arthroscopy on the left shoulder to “remove bone splinters and smooth the cartilage” and predicted that rehabilitation would be completed well before the start of the jumping training.

Judge, on the other hand, said on his arrival in Tampa/Florida that he was far from being completely restored. It was also clear that he would probably miss five to six games at the beginning of the season’s preparation. The game against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday is the sixth for the Yankees in jumping practice.

“I have my timing back and the arm feels good, so I think Wednesday will be the day and I’m looking forward to it,”Judge added. Manager Aaron Boone confirmed this and announced that Judge would also play in the field, not only as a designated HItter.

Even though Judge is not yet 100 percent free of pain, as he himself remarked, he seems to be on his way back to the form. As ESPN reports, he beat ten homeruns in the batting practice on Monday alone, one of them even flew far above the Batter’s Eye in deep center field.

This article was published without prior view by the Major League Baseball.