Yankees' Aaron Judge: Toe Injury Will Need 'Constant Maintenance' Throughout Career

After missing 42 games due to a torn ligament in his right big toe, New York Yankees star slugger Aaron Judge said he believes the injury is something he'll be monitoring for the remainder of his time in the majors.

"It's going to be I think a constant maintenance I think the rest of my career," Judge said Tuesday, per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. "Anything with injuries like that, you just got to stay on top of it so it doesn't flare up again."

Judge suffered the injury on June 3 when he crashed into the right-field fence at Dodger Stadium. He returned on July 28 and finished the season with a .262 batting average, 37 home runs and 75 RBI in 106 games.

Without the 2022 American League MVP in the lineup for a chunk of the year, the Yankees struggled to find consistency and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016 after going 82-80. In order to avoid another disaster, Judge was moved to center field following the acquisition of Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres.

"I keep getting hurt in right field, so I think that's why they moved me to center field," Judge said. "I think it's about playing smarter, understanding the field, understanding the dimensions. In that case, I thought I had one extra step and I didn't in that situation, so that always goes back on me. I got to be a little smarter there. So, yeah, just like this year, I've got play smart. But, no, I don't think there'll be any cement bottoms of walls in center field."

Judge added that the team is motivated to bounce back this year and compete for a World Series title.

"A lot of guys were embarrassed," Judge said of the team's performance last year. "Kind of a wake-up call, and I think just collectively as a group we all kind of looked at each other and said this can't happen again."