TAMPA, Fla. -- There were about a dozen media members encircling Aaron Judge¡¯s locker at Yankees camp on Friday afternoon when a hand clutching a smartphone wedged through the crowd, accompanied by a booming voice that delivered the most unexpected question of the day.

¡°Aaron,¡± said first baseman/reporter Anthony Rizzo, ¡°do you think it¡¯s fair to your Grapefruit League teammates that you¡¯re not out there with us?¡±

Judge didn¡¯t skip a beat, showcasing an opportunity to expertly show teammates how to deflect a leading query.

¡°You know, those guys have been working hard all year,¡± Judge said, smirking. ¡°They¡¯re getting some good quality reps. It¡¯s fun to be a part of and fun to watch.¡±

Rizzo¡¯s assistance offered levity to a topic that has the potential to be much less of a laughing matter, as Judge continues to deal with abdominal discomfort following a negative MRI on Monday.

There is uncertainty surrounding when Judge will return to Grapefruit League action; manager Aaron Boone said that he plans to have Judge in center field on Saturday against the Blue Jays, but Judge said he is not sure if he will play.

¡°All I¡¯ll say is we¡¯re feeling pretty good,¡± Judge said. ¡°The MRIs came back clean. I think a lot of it was precautionary; no need to risk stuff in Spring Training.¡±

Judge was scheduled to resume batting practice on Friday, but he was not listed in any of the club¡¯s on-field BP groups. Instead, Judge opted to follow a modified program that would shield his work from public view.

¡°It¡¯s just easier,¡± Judge said. ¡°We¡¯ve got our own little schedule going. We¡¯re going to go through a normal routine in the weight room, kind of run around, move around a little bit. Get in the cage a little bit and kind of go from there.¡±

Judge said that he would hit off a tee and soft-toss on Friday. He reiterated that his objective is to be in the lineup for Opening Day on March 28 against the Astros.

¡°The main goal is to be game-ready for Opening Day, so we¡¯re just going to work towards that,¡± Judge said.