Yankees place Judge on 10-day IL with toe injury

NEW YORK — For the second time this season, the New York Yankees will need to play without Aaron Judge.

New York placed its superstar slugger on the injured list with a contusion and a ligament sprain in his right big toe, it was announced Wednesday.

Judge does not have a fracture or break in his toe, according to team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad.

“The biggest thing now is trying to get the swelling out of there,” manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday. “He had some improvements today, but now we’ll see where he is in the coming days and then week. But the biggest thing is getting the swelling out of there.”

“I think it definitely could have been worse. Hopefully it’s on the shorter side of things.”

Judge was hurt while making a running catch and crashing into the outfield fence Saturday against the Dodgers and hadn’t played since.

He also spent time on the injured list earlier this season because of a right hamstring strain. When he’s been healthy, Judge has put up MVP-type numbers again, hitting .291/.404/.674 with 19 homers and 2.2 bWAR in 49 games.

New York’s pitching depth also is getting tested.

Nestor Cortes will be placed on the injured list due to a left shoulder injury. Boone mentioned Cortes has struggled to bounce back between starts. He’s expected to miss at least two starts.

Cortes has a 5.16 ERA in 11 starts, striking out 59 batters in 59⅓ innings.

To replace Cortes, New York called up Randy Vasquez from Triple-A. The righty made his major league debut on May 26 against the San Diego Padres, allowing two runs in 4⅔ innings pitched.

Also, pitcher Ryan Weber was diagnosed with a UCL strain and has been placed on the 60-day injured list. The 32-year-old righty has pitched in eight games this season, posting a 3.14 ERA in 14⅓ innings.

In a related roster move, the Yankees recalled outfielder Billy McKinney.