June 5 (Reuters) - With three-time American League MVP Aaron Judge sidelined with injury, the New York Yankees say they will be able to adjust their offense in the race to top the AL East baseball standings.
The Yankees said on Thursday Judge will be out indefinitely with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side. He will be re-evaluated in four to six weeks after a period of rest and limited activity, the team said, adding that Judge is expected to return this season.
The Yankees are second
in the AL East heading into play on Friday, trailing the Tampa Bay Rays by a half-game. Yankees manager Aaron Boone is confident the team will keep performing without Judge.
“He’s the best hitter in the sport, so you know there’s a void there," Boone told reporters after the team's 2-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday. “But we also have really good players that can pick it up, too."
First baseman Ben Rice is hitting .300 with 17 home runs — tied with Judge for most on the Yankees this season — and 44 RBIs.
The Yankees are also poised to recall prospect Spencer Jones from the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, according to multiple reports on Friday. The 6-foot-7 Jones struggled in his first big-league stint in May, batting .167 and recording no runs in 10 games.
The 25-year-old is hitting .269 with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs with the RailRiders this year.
Still, the Yankees know it is no easy task to replace Judge, who is hitting .248 with 38 RBIs in addition to his 17 home runs this season. But third baseman Ryan McMahon thinks the team will be fine and perhaps get creative with its offense.
“I think we’ll be all right. We’ll be good,” McMahon said post-game on Thursday. “We have the guys who can do a lot of different things with the stolen bases and hit-and-runs. We just might need to pull it out a little bit more."
For Jazz Chisholm Jr., who the Yankees will need to improve his game at the plate, Judge's absence is no excuse for potential poor performances.
"We’re all baseball players, and we’ve got to go out there and win a game," Chisholm said on Thursday.
The eventual returns of Jasson Dominguez and Giancarlo Stanton will be a boost for the Yankees. Dominguez was set to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Friday, while Stanton could return by mid-June, the team said in its latest injury update.
(Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in TorontoEditing by Rod Nickel)
