Yankees star Aaron Judge headed to injured list for 2nd time this season

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, center right, is checked out after catching a fly ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers' J.D. Martinez during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Saturday, June 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

NEW YORK -

Aaron Judge is headed to the injured list for the second time this season after the New York Yankees star hurt his right toe making a spectacular catch at Dodger Stadium.

The reigning AL MVP missed his second consecutive game Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox. He met with team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad and underwent testing that showed a bruise and a sprained ligament, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said following his team's 3-2 loss.

Boone said Judge will be placed on the IL but did not give a timeline for his return. The slugger received a platelet-rich plasma injection.

"The biggest thing now is trying to get the swelling out of there," Boone said. "Had some improvements today, but now just see where we are in the coming weeks, or days and then a week -- but the biggest thing is getting the swelling out of there now."

Boone said Judge's toe is not fractured.

"I think it definitely could have been worse," the manager said. "Hopefully it's on the shorter side of things."

Judge banged his right toe while making a running catch and crashing into the outfield fence during the eighth inning of Saturday's 6-3 win over the Dodgers. He sat out Sunday's 4-1 victory.

The right fielder knocked open the door of the visitors' bullpen while making the grab on J.D. Martinez's liner into the corner with Max Muncy on first base and nobody out.

Judge, who set an AL record with 62 home runs last year, is headed to the injured list for the eighth time since making his major league debut on Aug. 13, 2016. The 31-year-old missed 10 games this season with a strained right hip after getting injured on a headfirst slide attempting to steal third at Minnesota on April 26.

The Yankees went 4-6 while Judge was on the IL. Since returning from the hip injury, he is batting .326 with 13 of his AL-best 19 homers.

New York is 30-19 with Judge in the lineup, averaging five runs per game. The Yankees are 6-7 without him, averaging 3.5 runs.

"I don't like when he's not in the lineup and it's hurting him enough for him not to be in there," Boone said before Tuesday's game. "It seems like he's progressed here over the last 24 hours from a swelling standpoint, which I think is an important factor of it all is getting that swelling out of there and kind of having a better idea of what you have. So we'll see."

Judge did not go on the IL in either of the past two seasons. He appeared in 155 games in 2022 when he broke Roger Maris' AL record of 61 homers set in 1961. He played 148 games in 2021.

The Yankees also said Tuesday they will place left-hander Nestor Cortes on the injured list with a shoulder strain. Cortes is expected to miss at least two starts. Randy Vasquez will start Wednesday.

Cortes is 5-2 with a 5.16 ERA in 11 starts and has particularly struggled later in outings. Opponents are hitting .447 when facing him for the third time in a game.

Last year, Cortes was an All-Star and went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts.