Yankees captain Aaron Judge is progressing in his hitting regimen and could be nearing a return to the team as soon as next week. Judge took batting practice off the Trajekt pitching machine over the weekend in New York, a significant step in his recovery.
The Trajekt machine simulates pitches from major league pitchers, and while it is not available to road teams, Judge can still face high-velocity pitching machines during indoor cage work. He also tracked live pitching during bullpen sessions, though without swinging, as he did Tuesday with Max Fried in the visiting bullpen at Angel Stadium.
"He did quite a bit of hitting [Monday] and spaced it out a little bit -- he went back in and hit during the game some, so it’s kind of replicating that doing some work, sit down, go back and do some things," manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday. "He’s doing well. I talked to him again today, he feels really good. He’s running well, his speed’s in a good place, his strength’s in a good place. Now it’s just about reps and building that endurance."
Judge has expressed a desire to avoid a minor league rehabilitation assignment. While facing live pitching on the road this week is unlikely, Boone indicated it could be possible when the Yankees return home on Monday. "Standing in on pens, doing Trajekt the other day, seeing velocity, all those things are helping him get prepared to get back into game play," Boone added.
In other team news, rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. missed his third consecutive game Tuesday with knee inflammation. There is optimism he can avoid the injured list and return after the upcoming off-day for Friday's series opener against the Padres. "The running part of it’s good, it’s just getting the agility where we need it to be," Boone said of Lombard Jr. "Seems like today’s better than [Monday], so we’ll see as the day goes what level of availability there is for tonight."
As rosters expanded to 28 players on Tuesday, the Yankees activated Ryan McMahon from the 10-day injured list and added reliever John Schreiber, whom they claimed off waivers from the Royals. The expanded roster makes it improbable that Anthony Volpe or Jasson Domínguez will be called up from Triple-A in the final month of the regular season, barring injuries. Volpe has improved his hitting and has been gaining versatility by playing second base, shortstop, and third base. He entered Tuesday batting .247 with seven home runs and a .924 OPS in 21 games since being optioned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Domínguez has struggled, batting .202 with a .581 OPS in 21 games following his demotion.
The Yankees' pitching rotation plans include Will Warren starting behind Max Fried on Friday against the Padres, followed by Carlos Rodón potentially with Elmer Rodríguez on Saturday. Gerrit Cole, who started Tuesday against the Angels, could pitch on Sunday with normal rest. This schedule ensures that Wednesday's starter, Cam Schlittler, will have five days between starts before two off-days.