There’s a certain heaviness to the fact that the Bronx captain, Aaron Judge, the two-time AL MVP, is out with a flexor strain in his right elbow. However, his teammates and, moreover, the entire Yankees’ crew took a sigh of relief after learning that there is no significant damage to the ulnar collateral ligament that could have led to a Tommy John surgery.

Judge underwent an MRI on Saturday when the Yankees handed a 9-4 loss to the Phillies. He was given a platelet-rich plasma injection, and now he’s bound for a stint on the injured list for at least two weeks. When he returns, he will enter as a designated hitter initially.

“The pain is tough to tell. We’re starting to get on some medicine just to kind of clean that stuff up. I couldn’t throw, so I think that kind of sums it up,” Judge said during the latest media appearance with YES Network.

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When Judge was asked if he would’ve preferred to DH rather than hit the IL, he candidly replied, “Oh yeah, oh yeah.” Further, he also added on how long the DH discussion went on internally. “Yeah, that’s what took the longest, I think, more than anything.” With that remark, he hinted that there was a massive difference of opinion between him and the Yankees’ management.

He further added, “I really was reluctant about going on any IL or anything like that. I was like, if I can hit it, let me hit it. I’ll start DH-ing, I think, once this 10th day is up.” To fill in Judge’s short-term absence, the Yankees seriously thought about calling up Spencer Jones.

However, according to Jon Heyman from the NY Post, “It doesn’t sound like red-hot Spencer Jones will get the call to replace Judge now. Jones missed a game with back spasms. Not sure if that’s the reason they appear to be leaning elsewhere.” Apparently, it’s unlikely that Spencer Jones will replace Judge. That’s because of Jones’ recent back spasms. It’s a potential setback considering his previous Tommy John recovery.

How were Spencer Jones’ major league hopes derailed?

Except for Aaron Judge’s IL saga that swirled within the Yankees’ management, there was another tension that was unfolding beneath the surface. Apparently, many of us expected the outfield prospect to step in. After all, he was putting up an amazing set of numbers in Triple-A. He posted 13 home runs across his first 19 games. That is also inclusive of the three crushing home runs he recorded in one game.

It all went downhill when he missed Saturday’s game with the spasms. According to Andy Martino from SNY, this minor injury was the primary reason that derailed his potential call-up to the big leagues. It won’t cost him much time to recover; however, this minor injury cost him a big league opportunity that came at a high-stakes moment.

The Yankees, anyway, don’t see anyone in the trade market worth shipping Jones away for. They even took a step back from having Eugenio Suarez in the mix. The Yankees could now either turn to Bryan De La Cruz or Everson Pereira. Both De La Cruz and Pereira are already on the 40-man roster. But most importantly, if Jones were healthy, would the Yankees have actually called him up? What do you think?

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