TAMPA, Fla. -- As the “car wash” of testing continues to determine the cause of discomfort in Aaron Judge's right shoulder and pectoral area, the Yankees slugger expressed frustration with his situation on Thursday, but said that he is not ready to rule out being ready for the March 26 season opener against the Orioles.

“The goal is always to be ready for Opening Day,” Judge said. “You only need about 30 at-bats to get ready for the season. I’ve still got plenty of time for that. If I don’t get them here [in Grapefruit League games], I can go on the back field or go across the street [to Minor League camp] to get those at-bats. We’ve just got to get answers first.”

Judge said that he is continuing to experience issues in both his right shoulder and right pectoral area. After arriving at the Yankees’ Minor League complex in late January, Judge initially shut down his on-field hitting due to the shoulder issue. He resumed throwing at distances of up to 120 feet, but the pectoral injury occurred during indoor hitting against coaches last week.

“It’s always been chest and shoulder,” Judge said. “That’s what is making it tough, trying to describe what I’m feeling. I haven’t got a definite answer of what’s going on yet. … It’s a combination. One day I’ll wake up and the chest is feeling good, next day the shoulder is feeling bad. Next day, the shoulder is feeling good. It’s just kind of back and forth right now.”

General manager Brian Cashman has repeatedly declined to state the specific tests that Judge has undergone, though he is known to have had at least one MRI. On Wednesday, Cashman estimated that Judge has been sent for somewhere between seven and 10 tests.

“The first thing is, we’ve got to get what it is,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “What we’re dealing with, what the prognosis is, what’s the course of action? I know we get wrapped up in Opening Day and is he going to be [ready] -- I don’t know. I want to know what we’re dealing with, and hopefully have a timeframe in place that, ‘OK, this is how long it’s going to be before he’s back doing anything.’ And then we’ll be able to better make those evaluations.”

Though Cashman said earlier this week that he considers it unlikely to have Judge and Giancarlo Stanton in the Opening Day lineup, Judge said that he later approached Cashman to clarify that conversation, and that Cashman told him he was speaking specifically about Stanton.

Judge played in 155 games during his 2017 American League Rookie of the Year Award campaign, hitting an AL-leading 52 homers and finishing second in AL Most Valuable Player Award voting. Injuries have limited him to 228 of a possible 338 games in the last two years: 112 regular-season games in '18 and 102 last season, plus 14 postseason games over that span.

“It’s tough,” he said. “In 2018, I had a fluke injury, getting hit [by a pitch, fracturing his right wrist]. That’s something you never want to have happen. And then the following year, straining an oblique, that’s pretty tough.

"I’m pretty frustrated with it. I want to be out there with my team battling and supporting them on the field. Hopefully that’s why we’re talking to a lot of doctors, trying to get some answers.”