Cashman: Judge will be 'down for a while'

ANAHEIM -- Aaron Judge has accompanied the Yankees on their nine-game West Coast road trip, though for all intents and purposes, the star slugger is serving as a cheerleader while his teammates take on the Angels, Giants and D-backs.

Speaking on WFAN, general manager Brian Cashman declined to offer a specific timeline for Judge's return from the left oblique strain that he sustained Saturday, though he acknowledged that Judge's recovery will take longer than two weeks.

"We're not going to be able to put a timetable on it," Cashman said. "He does have a significant injury, so he's going to be down for a while. A while would be past that two-week timeframe, but in terms of trying to frame it and what it's going to be, I think we'll get a better feel for this thing as we move forward."

Judge sustained the injury while stroking a sixth-inning single Saturday against the Royals. He landed on the injured list a day later when the Yankees promoted infielder Thairo Estrada from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

This marks Judge's third career stint on the injured list. His 2016 season ended with a right oblique injury, and Judge missed more than a month in '18 with a chip fracture in his right wrist. Judge has said he does not believe the current oblique strain is as severe as the one he sustained in '16.

The Yankees are leery of affixing an exact timeline to Judge's injury in part because of his experience last July, when -- after receiving input from team physician Christopher Ahmad -- they announced Judge would return from the wrist injury in three weeks. Judge needed 7 1/2 weeks to return to the lineup.

"He has a significant strain there. Because of that, it's going to be awhile," Cashman said. "At the end of the day, we're going to have to repackage and plug and play with what we've got, and evaluate if anything presents itself from outside. In the meantime, that allows us to tread water or excel. Our job is to find a way regardless of what the circumstance is."

Change of plans

The Yankees had announced that they would to promote right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga to start Tuesday's game against the Angels, inserting a sixth starter as they proceed through a stretch of 13 straight games, but Monday's 14-inning affair altered those plans.

Instead, Boone said Loaisiga will work out of the bullpen, with right-hander Domingo Germán starting Tuesday's contest. CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka will thus start the final two games of the series in Anaheim.

In a corresponding roster move for Loaisiga, right-hander Joe Harvey was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Monday's game.

Comeback trail

Gary Sanchez tested his recovery from a low-grade left calf strain by catching five innings Monday for Class A Charleston against Kannapolis. Sanchez went 0-for-3 and permitted two passed balls in the effort. Boone said Sanchez is expected to fly to Anaheim on Tuesday and should play Wednesday against the Angels.

"Obviously we've been hit hard, but we feel like at least we're making progress now," Boone said. "Hopefully if Gary can come back this week, we'll start seeing some guys slowly but surely getting back in the fray."

It ain't easy

Chad Green's rough beginning to the season continued in Sunday's 7-6, 10-inning victory over the Royals at Yankee Stadium, as the right-hander permitted all three men he faced to reach base in the eighth inning (single, walk, single). They all scored against Adam Ottavino, and Green now owns a 12.27 ERA after compiling a 2.50 ERA in 63 appearances last year.

Boone said the Yankees are working on Green's mechanics, with pitching coach Larry Rothschild and bullpen coach Mike Harkey paying special attention to the 27-year-old.

"The guy is really good. The guy can really pitch," Boone said. "I do think there are probably some very subtle mechanical things that once they click can unlock him a little bit. ... He's not getting those swings and misses like we're accustomed to seeing. I feel like once he does get to that good sound mechanical point, like he's been throughout his career, I think the results will follow."

This date in Yankees history

April 22, 1959: Whitey Ford pitched a 14-inning complete game at Washington's Griffith Stadium, permitting seven hits and seven walks while striking out 15 in a 1-0 win over the Senators. Moose Skowron provided the margin of victory with a homer off Chuck Stobbs.