Throughout much of his second-half funk, Aaron Judge was repeatedly asked if his left shoulder — which was routinely packed in ice after games — was bothering him.
The answer from Judge, the Yankees right fielder, was always the same: No.
But it appears it had been bothering Judge more than he let on, as he had arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to remove loose bodies and clean up torn cartilage in his non-throwing shoulder.
The surgery, performed by the Los Angeles Dodgers team physician, Neal ElAttrache, is not expected to prevent Judge from being ready for the start of spring training, the Yankees said in a statement announcing the surgery.