Yankees' Aaron Judge Out vs. Orioles Because of Side Injury

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge is being held out of Wednesday's starting lineup against the Baltimore Orioles because of "general soreness in his side," manager Aaron Boone announced before the game. 

Clint Frazier will get the start in right with Judge out, with Brett Gardner playing left:

New York has an off day on Thursday, providing Judge with two days to try to recover.

Judge has smacked two home runs and driven in five runs thus far in 2021, hitting .364 through his first five appearances.

When healthy, Judge is a prolific power hitter and an excellent outfielder with a cannon for an arm. He finished second in the American League MVP voting in 2017 after hitting 52 home runs and knocking in 114 runners.

However, injuries have forced Judge off the field numerous times in the past three years.

He suffered a fractured ulnar styloid bone after getting hit with a pitch from Kansas City Royals pitcher Jakob Junis in 2018 and missed nearly two months. An oblique strain in 2019 forced him off the field for two more months.

An injured right calf caused numerous problems for Judge in 2020. He landed on the injured list with a Grade 1 right calf strain on Aug. 12 and missed two weeks. He came back against the Atlanta Braves during an Aug. 26 doubleheader but had to leave before his first game ended when the calf tightened.

He went back on the IL but returned on Sept. 16 and played for the Yankees during their two playoff rounds.