Specialist agrees with Aaron Judge rib evaluation; Schmidt, Fried take steps in rehab
Published in Baseball
NEW YORK — A specialist agreed with the Yankees’ team doctor’s assessment of Aaron Judge‘s fractured rib, confirming that the slugger is not ready to resume baseball activities.
Judge underwent re-imaging Wednesday that showed his injured right rib is healing but still needs more time.
The Yankees heard back Friday night from Texas-based Dr. Gregory Pearl, who agreed with team physician Chris Ahmad’s initial evaluation.
“He needs to get to a point where he’s asymptomatic to where you really start ramping up more upper-body stuff,” manager Aaron Boone said Saturday, shortly after the Yankees’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers was rained out.
“The good news is the pain is subsiding somewhat over the last couple of weeks and changing from that sharp [feeling] to more of that dull. So, hopefully he continues to improve there and we can start upping things.”
Judge has not appeared in a game since May 31 and has been on the injured list since June 5.
On Saturday, the Yankees moved Judge to the 60-day IL — a procedural move to make room on the 40-man roster for right-hander Bradley Hanner, whom they signed and sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Judge — a three-time American League MVP, including in each of the past two seasons — is hitting .248 with 17 home runs and a .907 OPS in 59 games.
The Yankees (54-43) are 18-20 without him.
Judge said Friday that he “definitely” expects to return this season.
“We don’t want to just prematurely start doing some things and hurt us in the long run,” Judge said.
Schmidt step
Clarke Schmidt threw a live batting practice session at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, marking his first time facing hitters since undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer.
Schmidt threw 15 pitches — all fastballs, cutters or sinkers — to Anthony Volpe and Ali Sánchez but threw breaking balls during his warmup.
“It felt good,” Schmidt, 30, said. “Nice and easy. I felt like I was moving really well, and it felt good to have some competition and compete again and get some cleats on the dirt.”
Schmidt expects to throw another live session in four or five days and to implement breaking balls that time.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a crazy amount of lives,” Schmidt said. “But the plan is right now, on a four-or-five-day schedule, just keep throwing lives.”
Schmidt was 4-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts last year before his season ended prematurely.
With limited time for Schmidt to build up his pitch count, the right-hander said he would be open to any role later in the season, including being an opener or a bridge reliever.
“That’s the only thing on my mind right now: I want to help this team,” Schmidt said.
“Obviously, I care about my career and the long-term and stuff like that, but for me right now, I know how talented we are. I’ve seen the upside of this team throughout the season, so being a part of that and being able to help in any way I can is something that, when I lay my head down at night, is all I’m thinking about.”
To the Max
The reviews of Max Fried’s first rehab start were positive.
Fried, who last pitched in the majors on May 13 due to a left elbow bone bruise, threw 52 pitches over three innings on Friday night with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The left-hander limited Worcester to two runs and struck out three without a walk.
“He looked really good,” Boone said Saturday. “I watched his whole outing. He felt really good.”
Fried is set to make another rehab start before the Yankees evaluate his next step. The 32-year-old is 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 10 starts this season.
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