Speaking with MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other reporters today, Boone said he believes Judge will be back before the end of the 2023 season, though he didn’t guarantee it.  As ominous as this sounds, Boone may have been holding back on linguistic grounds (since a guarantee is “an absolute.  I can’t say that about anyone.”) rather than out of genuine concern over a truly long-term injury to the reigning AL MVP.  That said, it is certainly disconcerting that there’s even a slim chance Judge’s toe injury might bring a premature end to his season.

Aaron Judge said he was trying to identify which of his teammates was yelling at plate umpire Clint Vondrak when he peered at his own dugout before hitting a 462-foot home run in the New York Yankees’ 7-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.

The Yankees slugger looked sideways for a moment before driving a 114.9 mph scorcher off right-hander Jay Jackson.

“There was kind of a lot of chirping from our dugout, which I really didn’t like in the situation,” Judge said.

New York led 6-0 at the time, and three pitches earlier, Vondrak had ejected Yankees manager Aaron Boone for arguing a low strike call to Judge. Boone came out of the dugout to vent at Vondrak and crew chief James Hoye.

Toronto’s broadcasters noticed Judge peering at his own dugout before his homer and speculated he was looking for some kind of signal.

“It’s kind of odd that a hitter would be looking in that direction,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.