ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.- After being a late scratch prior to Wednesday’s game, Aaron Judge was pinch-hit in the fifth inning and delivered the go-ahead hit in the 10th inning of the Yankees 3-1 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field.
Following the win, Judge said he was undergoing some tests and blood work related to coming off the COVID-19 IL and didn’t get to the field until close to game time.
“I was pretty upset we weren’t able to get it done before the game,’’ said Judge, who returned from the IL Tuesday.
When asked, Judge declined to say whether he’d been vaccinated.
“I’m not gonna get into that,’’ Judge said.
He also said he only had very mild symptoms.
“The worst I got was a headache and some sniffles,’’ Judge said. “It felt like allergies. I’ve had a worse cold or flu in the past.”
He added he was still able to work out.
And he doesn’t know how he contracted the illness.
“I’ve been trying to rack my brain around that,’’ Judge said.
Judge missed nine games while on the COVID-19 IL, one of six Yankee players to land on the COVID IL this month.
Estevan Florial, recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before the game, started in Judge’s place. Judge pinch-hit for Florial in the fifth inning and struck out twice before his single in extra innings.
He started in right field in Tuesday’s win over the Rays and went 1-for-4 with a hit by pitch.
Boone said Clint Frazier remains in Michigan, undergoing neurological tests “for a couple more days” as the Yankees try to determine the cause of his vision issues. The manager added Frazier could return to New York on Friday and even begin a rehab assignment next week.
“Things are going well,’’ Boone said. “He is getting close.”
Frazier is doing baseball activities and doctors are ruling out possible sources of his vision issues that have sidelined him since July 2- including possible connections to the concussion he suffered in 2018.
One of Frazier’s potential replacements in the outfield, Miguel Andujar, has undergone at least two cortisone shots to his strained left wrist and is not ready to return.
“He’s doing a little better,’’ Boone said. “He’s not totally pain-free.”
Along with Florial, right-hander Albert Abreu was also recalled from SWB after Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson were traded to the Reds for a player to be named later Tuesday night in an effort to clear up roster spots and salary flexibility.
They added right-hander Clay Holmes in a trade with the Pirates on Monday, sending a pair of minor leaguers to Pittsburgh, and they’re looking for possible moves at shortstop, the outfield and rotation- but they appear determined to remain under the $210 million luxury tax threshold… Luis Severino said he was scheduled to pitch in a rehab game Thursday, but rain in the forecast will likely change that to a simulated game, which can be done at Tropicana Field.
DJ LeMahieu reached base for a 37th straight game, one shy of his career-best. It’s the longest such streak since Minnesota’s Jorge Polanco’s streak in 2019, also 37 games.