Yankees' Aaron Judge in 'Holding Pattern' amid Testing on Shoulder Injury

Aaron Judge's ailing shoulder will need more testing after an MRI came back negative.

The Yankees slugger took batting practice Friday, but manager Aaron Boone noted the outfielder still didn't look right. Judge has been experiencing soreness in his right shoulder and was shut down a week before spring training opened. 

His timeline for a return remains unknown while the team tries to identify the issue.

"We're in a holding pattern with it, just trying to figure out what exactly is going on," Boone told the media Saturday. "We're trying to get our arms around if we can pinpoint something that's causing some of the discomfort. At this point we haven't found that."

For Judge to be ready for Opening Day on March 26—which has not been ruled out—he would need to participate in exhibition games over the final stretch of camp, per Boone. 

"First things first is getting him to that point, and I don't know when that is," Boone said. "I'm a little frustrated for him.''

The start of spring training has not been kind to the Yankees. Starting pitcher James Paxton underwent back surgery February 5 and will miss at least the first month of the season, while Luis Severino had Tommy John surgery on Thursday and will be out all of 2020 after he missed the majority of 2019 with shoulder and lat injuries. 

Judge slashed .272/.381/.540 with 27 home runs in 102 games last year. He's been the face of the Yankees in recent seasons and is expected to anchor a lineup that enters the campaign as the odds-on favorite to win the American League. 

That may be on hold until he can return, but the Yankees are taking their time to make sure they get the correct diagnosis.