Yankees star has been slowed a bit by some abdominal discomfort recently, with manager telling reporters yesterday that the 2022 AL MVP is mid-spring banged up while downplaying concerns of a more serious injury. Judge revealed this morning that he underwent an MRI on his abdominal region yesterday to ascertain that there was no significant injury at play ( via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). That imaging came back clean. Judge says he wont swing a bat until later this week but is hopeful hell be in the Opening Day lineup. On the one hand, the fact that Judge Yennsy Diaz Jersey has avoided any kind of serious injury is an obvious cause for relief. On the other, its hardly ideal that the season hasnt even begun and hes le s than 100 percent. Judge specified that the discomfort hes felt has been in the middle of his abdominal muscles not his oblique region. Thats particularly notable given that Judge has had a pair of oblique strains in the past, including a Grade 2 strain in 2019 that cost him two months of the season. I think just from swinging from November all the way until now, every single day, it put some wear and tear on it, said Judge ( ). Especially coming back after a [right] toe injury when your mechanics are a little me sed up and youre just working on some things. Judge, 32 in April, was once again excellent in 2023 though a hip strain in late April cost him 10 days, while the sprained toe he referenced wound up shelving him for more than a month. In all, he played in 106 games his fewest in a 162-game season since 2019 and posting a brilliant .267/.406/.613 slash with 37 home runs in just 458 trips to the plate. The Yankees are already awaiting MRI results on ace and reigning Cy Young winner . Coupling that with even minor concern about the teams best all-around player makes for an uncomfortable few days for the club and its fans. The Yankees indicated yesterday that Cole is expected to receive multiple opinions on his MRI results. An announcement today is not nece sarily a given. that club officials have characterized the Cole MRI as precautionary and downplayed concern over a potential long-term injury. Time will tell whether that proves to be the case. In the wake of the Cole news, theres been a renewed focus on the Yankees rotation depth and ample speculation on contingency plans. The remaining pair of high-profile Scott Boras clients and have been at the forefront of that speculation. Martino reported in his piece that the Yankees havent yet circled back to Snell since concerns about Cole arose. on the idea of the Yankees pivoting to either left-hander. The luxury tax concerns for the Yankees have been highlighted at length by now. As a reminder, theyre a third-time payor whos in the fourth and final tier of penalization. Any further additions to the payroll will be taxed at a 110% rate (based on the contracts AAV) on top of the players salary. In the case of Snell, hed also require forfeiting the teams second-highest draft pick and surrendering $1MM of pool space in next years international free agent bonus pool, because Snell rejected a qualifying offer from the Padres. Perhaps in part because of that, Sherman reports that the Yankees were more interested in Montgomery earlier in the offseason than in Snell despite making a reported offer to the latter. The Yankees, per Sherman, could not get a strong engagement from Montgomery at the time, however. That lines up with some late-February reporting , wherein he wrote that Montgomerys hope had been for a return to the Rangers and that it was believed he did not prefer a Yankees reunion. With Montgomery still lingering on the market and the Rangers seemingly disinclined to spend further, none of that should expre sly rule out an eventual match between Montgomery and the Yankees. Sherman suggests that the likeliest course of action for the Yankees is to stand pat regardle s of the news on Cole, though he opines that if they do make a move, theyrelikelier to meet the White Sox asking price for right-hander than they are to sign Snell or Montgomery. Cease is making $8MM this season and is controlled through 2025 via arbitration. Hed come with an $8.8MM luxury hit, but thats a pittance relative to the tax hits itd take to sign Montgomery or Snell for an AAV of $25-30MM if not more. has indicated that the ChiSox were insistent on the inclusion of top outfield prospect in talks regarding Cease, while the Yankees have been loath to consider moving him in any deal. Thomas Pannone Jersey