Judge out of Yankees' lineup after banging right toe while making spectacular catch

Updated Jun. 4, 2023 11:35 p.m. ET

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is hoping that a couple days off will be all he needs to rest his bruised right toe.

Judge was out of the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers after he banged his right big toe while making a spectacular running catch in right field during the eighth inning of Saturday's game at Dodger Stadium.

The reigning AL MVP received treatment on his foot Sunday and will undergo tests in New York on Monday to assess if the injury is beyond a bruise.

“It was a little sore. So I think not playing today was a little precautionary,” Judge said after the Yankees' 4-1 victory on Sunday. “It was kind of bad all the way through. Once the adrenaline kind of wore off, it got a little worse and there was a little bit of swelling.”

Manager Aaron Boone said he doesn't think Judge would need to go on the injured list, but that it is something they will monitor the next couple days.

The Yankees are off on Monday before returning home to begin a six-game homestand on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox.

Judge leads the American League with 19 home runs, including 13 in his last 19 games. He is also batting .348 with 24 RBIs since May 13.

When asked about the possibility of landing on the IL, Judge said: “I really don’t care at this point. If I’m on it, I’m on it. But I’m trying not to be. I've got no answer yet. But I’m hoping today and tomorrow, having a little bit of rest it’ll be good to go.”

Judge knocked open the door of the visiting bullpen while making the catch on J.D. Martinez’s liner into the right field corner with Max Muncy on first base and nobody out. Judge made the catch an instant before running into the bullpen door, which came partly open when he hit it.

The Yankees went on to win the game 6-3.

Boone said before Sunday's game that he hopes the Dodgers or MLB would address possibly adding padding to the concrete step below the bullpen door.

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