Yankees Notes: Judge, Bellinger, Volpe

"Aaron Judge's massive postseason performance made it easy to forget he's been dealing with a flexor strain in his right elbow since July. The slugger had multiple hits in all but one game across the first two rounds of the playoffs. Judge engineered a defining postseason moment in Game 3 against Toronto, smashing a game-tying homer off Louis Varland. With the Yankees now headed into the offseason, Judge was asked about the plan for his ailing elbow."

"When asked about surgery specifically, Judge remained noncommittal. " I'm not a doctor. I don't know. " The flexor strain forced Judge to the IL in late July. It was a minimum stint on the IL, but he was unable to play the field upon returning. Judge spent all of August at DH. He made it back to his familiar home in right field on September 5."

"Anthony Volpe was similarly tight-lipped about offseason surgery for his shoulder injury. " I anticipated playing another month and then reassessing then. So nothing's [decided] ... we're going to figure it out," Volpe told reporters, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Volpe partially tore the labrum in his shoulder back in May. He didn't go on the IL with the injury, but his performance suffered. Volpe slashed a solid .237/.328/.456 through April. His numbers tumbled to .205/.255/.374 over the final five months of the season."

Aaron Judge has played through a right-elbow flexor strain sustained in July and produced a massive postseason, recording multiple hits in nearly every early playoff game and hitting a game-tying homer in Game 3 against Toronto. The injury resulted in a minimum IL stint in late July and a month as DH in August before a return to right field on September 5, with mixed right-field/DH usage to finish the season. Initial tests found no UCL damage, and recovery from flexor-strain surgery would be shorter than for a UCL tear. Offseason plans include working on the elbow with surgery not yet decided. Anthony Volpe partially tore a shoulder labrum in May, avoided the IL, saw offensive decline after April, and plans to reassess treatment in the offseason.

Read at MLB Trade Rumors