Aaron Judge denies shoulder issue has impacted recent slump

There’s a reason New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge has been struggling since the All-Star break, and it’s not the Home Run Derby.

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Judge is reportedly dealing with a shoulder issue, but denied it has been impacting his performance.

It’s unclear when Judge began dealing with the problem, but his numbers since the All-Star break have been poor. Over the past 34 games, Judge is hitting just .175/.338/.367, with seven home runs, in 151 plate appearances. Coming into Sunday’s game, Judge has struck out a league-leading 46 times in the past 30 days.

While Judge said his shoulder has not been the source of his struggles, he acknowledged that he needs to start playing better.

Despite Judge’s struggles, the Yankees find themselves in a better position since the All-Star break. At the time, the club was tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for the top spot in the American League wild card race.

Since then, the team has gone 21-16, and increased its lead for the AL’s top wild card spot. The Yankees now hold a 2.5 game lead over the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels.

Judge’s issues are concerning, but there’s no sign of a serious injury at this time. The Yankees have gotten by just fine as he’s played through a slump.

As long as Judge gets himself right by the postseason, the club will have nothing to worry about. It’s better he go through issues now as opposed to October.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik