The New York Yankees will be in hostile territory on Thursday as they kick off a series against the Boston Red Sox. Unfortunately, they'll be without their biggest bat and team leader in Aaron Judge. Manager Aaron Boone revealed, via The Michael Kay Show, that Judge is dealing with “some kind of lower-body soreness thing.”

Boone said that Judge's injury was “something [the Yankees] are not going to mess with,” which is what prompted the decision to hold him out of Thursday's lineup against the Red Sox.

That's certainly not what Yankees fans wanted to hear, though there's optimism that it's just a minor blip for the MLB's home run leader. Boone indicated that Judge could potentially be available to pinch hit on Thrusday night, should the situation arise.

The Yankees are coming off a beatdown of the Pittsburgh Pirates, during which they ran up the score to 16-0. Judge provided a Grand Slam in the affair, but the Yankees won't be able to lean on his ever-reliable bat on Thursday in the first of their four-game series against their arch-rivals.

This season, Judge is slashing .287/.366/.627 with 30 home runs, 64 RBI, and 65 runs scored. He's an early MVP favorite out of the American League, battling Shohei Ohtani for the award thus far into the year.

The Yankees will hope that Judge's soreness subsides by Friday and that he'll be available for the latter three games of the series.

In his absence, Aaron Hicks will slot in at center field, while Joey Gallo shifts to right field. Giancarlo Stanton will play left field and Matt Carpenter will be the team's designated hitter.