New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge has received clearance to begin light workout activities, marking a significant step in his recovery from a rib injury that has kept him sidelined since May 31. Judge expressed confidence that he will return to play this season.
"Oh, I’ll be back this season. I don’t know why I wouldn’t be," Judge said Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. "That was always the plan to come back — sooner than later, definitely. But I never had a thought of not playing this year."
On the field in baseball gear Wednesday, Judge engaged in stretching, jogging, and shuffle slides with a resistance band. This progression follows a recent scan on Tuesday that indicated positive healing. "Better news. Healing up. So, you get a chance to progress a little bit, do some running, do some more upper-body stuff, and kind of progress towards getting back out on the field and swinging it," he explained. He acknowledged that the injury is not fully healed, but called the current step forward "great."
While Judge is able to increase his activity, a return to the lineup remains some time away. Advancing to taking swings is the next major hurdle, though it is unclear when that phase will begin. "I think that’s going to be the ultimate test, is hitting," Judge stated. "That’s the most violent of it all, I think, more than running or lifting and stuff like that. So, once we keep progressing, everything’s feeling great, then we take another scan, see where it’s at and hopefully add in hitting and throwing and all that down the road."
Neither Judge nor Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided a target date for the outfielder's return. Judge mentioned he had "forced" the team to allow him to begin running after his latest scan. He humorously added that reporters would be informed of a game plan "when we get a game plan, you guys will be somewhere on the list. Not the top."
Judge is currently on the 60-day injured list with a stress fracture in his right rib. Before his injury, he had a .248 batting average with 17 home runs, 38 RBIs, and a .907 OPS in the current season. However, he had only hit one home run in his last 18 games prior to being placed on the injured list.
Since Judge last played on May 31, the Yankees have posted a 28-27 record. During this stretch, the team's offense has been among the worst in Major League Baseball. The Yankees have also been managing absences of designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton since April 25 due to a calf strain and left fielder Cody Bellinger since July 26 with a hamstring strain.
To address lineup needs, the Yankees acquired first baseman Luis García Jr. and outfielder Heliot Ramos before the trade deadline. Entering Wednesday night's game against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Yankees trailed the first-place Tampa Bay Rays by four games in the AL East standings and held the league's top wild card spot.
"I’ve got a broken rib, so you’re going to feel it. But it’s healing up. So that’s the progress we want see so we can start doing some more and kind of testing and see where we’re at," Judge said. "Because we’re running out of days. I know we’ve got 52 days left, 53 days left, so, got to get back out there."