Judge lands on IL with ligament strain in toe

The New York Yankees are placing reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge on the injured list with a ligament strain in his bruised right toe, manager Aaron Boone announced Tuesday, according to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic.

Judge suffered the injury when he crashed through a bullpen gate making a spectacular catch against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

Boone didn't provide a timeline for the star slugger's return, per David Lennon of Newsday.

"Can't replace that guy, from a leadership standpoint, from a playing standpoint," Josh Donaldson said, according to Newsday's Erik Boland. "We're just going to really have to come together as a team. Play good defense, pitch, throw the ball well, and hopefully keep winning games until he gets back."

The skipper also said left-hander Nestor Cortes has a shoulder strain and won't throw for the next two weeks, according to Max Goodman of NJ.com. The 2022 All-Star will land on the IL, too.

Judge and Cortes both received injections for their injuries Tuesday.

"During a start, (the shoulder) wasn't bothering me. It was just the recovery in between where it would take a little longer than usual to get right," Cortes said, according to SNY.

Judge is having another MVP season, slashing .291/.404/.674 with 19 homers over 49 games, while Cortes has posted a 5.16 ERA with 1.29 WHIP and 59 strikeouts over 59 1/3 innings (11 starts) in 2023.