Right fielder Aaron Judge is about to enter a contract year with the New York Yankees.
Judge would benefit tremendously from a solid season to justify as large a payday as possible, either as an extension with the Yankees or as a free agent elsewhere after the season.
The outfielder, who earned All-MLB First Team honors in 2021, projects to have another solid campaign. However, one issue that could slow him down is his potential eligibility to play all 162 games if unvaccinated against Covid-19.
#Yankees Aaron Judge was just asked if he’s vaccinated and here is how he responded pic.twitter.com/guXUqm4DHX
— Randy Miller (@RandyJMiller) March 15, 2022
During his press conference on Tuesday, the Yankees outfielder was asked about his vaccination status. Here is what he had to say:
“I’m still focused on getting through the first game of spring training so I think we’ll cross that bridge whenever the time comes. But right now, so many things could change. So I’m not really too worried about that right now.”
Well, that is certainly a confusing answer that does little to offer much clarity on the situation.
To be perfectly clear, while not illuminating, that doesn’t necessarily mean Judge is unvaccinated. In fact, Yankees executive Brian Cashman said “some” players on the team who were unvaccinated last year are vaccinated now.
Brian Cashman said yesterday that some (unidentified) Yankees who were unvaccinated last year are vaccinated now. Aaron Judge happened to be at podium as today’s news was breaking, and declined to say whether he is vaccinated.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) March 15, 2022
If he were unvaccinated, much like what is happening with Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving in the NBA, there are questions surrounding whether or not he can play in home games.
According to New York Daily News reporter Stefan Bondy, the Yankees currently fall under the same “private sector mandate” as the Nets. That means, as of now, an unvaccinated player on the Yankees would not be able to play home games at Yankee Stadium.
Spoke to a City Hall spokesperson and the Yankees and Mets fall under the same private sector mandate as Kyrie Irving and the Nets. No difference because it's an outdoor sport. Spokesperson cautioned that things could change by Opening Day.
Story posted shortly
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) March 15, 2022
The Yankees have 81 games scheduled to play at Yankee Stadium in 2022. Meanwhile, due to border restrictions, unvaccinated MLB players will not be allowed to play in Canada. The Yankees play in the same division as the Toronto Blue Jays. New York has nine games scheduled in Toronto for the upcoming season.
That means an unvaccinated player could miss up to 90 of 162 games. Of course, if that were the case, it would have a tremendous impact on both Judge and the Yankees organization.
This is definitely a story worth monitoring as it continues to develop over the course of spring training and, potentially, into the season.
