Yankees’ Aaron Judge will be ready for Opening Day despite absence

TAMPA – Aaron Judge sat for a third straight day in the Yankees’ spring training finale Monday, with Aaron Boone saying on the YES Network the right fielder was “under the weather.”

Judge was put through COVID protocols and will be ready for Thursday’s Opening Day, the manager said.

The absence of Judge from Monday’s lineup against the Tigers caused a brief stir. 

Judge last played Friday and hit a double. Judge hit his first – and only – homer of the spring on Thursday against the Phillies in Clearwater, Fla.

On Saturday, he said the team was “ready to go. I think we’ve been ready for quite a while now. Usually the last couple weeks of spring training are kind of tough, more mentally, I think, than anything. … April 1, It’s go time.”