Yankees captain Aaron Judge expressed his hope on Thursday to avoid a minor league rehabilitation assignment as he continues his recovery from a right rib stress fracture. The outfielder has been sidelined since May 31.
Judge, who took batting practice in an indoor cage on Monday, is progressing in his hitting program. While he has not yet been cleared to face live pitching at full speed, he remains optimistic about his return timeline.
“I didn’t rehab in ‘23 when I missed probably the same amount of time,” Judge told reporters. “Why waste at-bats? Why waste anything down in a Minor League game? I’ve been doing this for a while now, and I’ve got a sense of what I need to do on the field and how to manage it.”
He indicated he is not concerned about regaining his timing at the plate. "I’m not really expecting it to take me too long to get the timing back,” he said.