Aaron Judge undergoes testing for elbow issue in major Yankees injury scare

In a potentially devastating blow for an already reeling team, Aaron Judge was out of the Yankees’ lineup Saturday against the Phillies with what manager Aaron Boone described as a right elbow issue and “obviously a concern.”

Judge underwent an MRI before Saturday’s game and he was slated to be seen by team doctor Christopher Ahmad, but Boone said the team was awaiting the results.

The slugger winced after making a throw Tuesday night in Toronto, but he remained in the lineup through Friday’s 12-5 loss to the Phillies.

“Obviously, you guys asked about it in Toronto, but he felt like it was fine on the off day,” Boone said. “Then, (Friday) night, he couldn’t really throw from the outfield, so he came in today and got imaging on that.

“Obviously it’s a concern, but we’ll wait and see.”

Aaron Judge swinging during Friday’s game.

Asked later if he fears the injury could be related to the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow, Boone replied, “I don’t know.”

The two-time AL MVP served as the Yankees’ designated hitter Wednesday against the Blue Jays, but he returned to right field in the series opener against the Phillies.

Friday’s sloppy loss dropped the skidding Yanks record to 14-22 since June 13, and it left them a season-high 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Blue Jays in the AL East entering Saturday’s action.

Judge flirted with .400 through the first two months of the regular season, and he still leads the majors at .342 with 37 home runs, two behind league-leader Cal Raleigh of the Mariners.

Aaron Judge wincing Tuesday in Toronto.

No. 99 paces the majors in batting average, on-base percentage (.449), slugging percentage (.711) and OPS (1.160), and his AL-high total of 85 RBIs has him in the running for the triple crown.

Boone stressed that the injury has been bothering Judge more in the outfield than it has at the plate.

“It was more about throwing [Friday] night. Like, he couldn’t really get the ball in very well,” Boone said. “So we felt like we’d get the imaging and get our hands around just what exactly we’re dealing with.

“He had the throw in Toronto where it just zinged him it hurt, but then he felt it was good to go on the off day. Then [Friday] night, though, it was just a struggle to throw a little bit. So, we wanted to get this checked out.”

The 33-year-old Judge has missed significant time to injuries multiple times in parts of 10 seasons in the Bronx, including wrist lengthy absences due to wrist and shoulder ailments.

The Yanks signed Judge to a nine-year contract worth a team record $360 million after he eclipsed Roger Maris’ AL record with 62 home runs in 2022.