Aaron Judge took a significant step in his recovery Friday, participating in on-field batting practice at Petco Park for the first time since sustaining a right rib stress fracture. The reigning American League MVP, who began indoor hitting approximately 10 days ago, swung with his teammates and showed no apparent limitations in his movement.

Judge acknowledged the session as another milestone achieved, with few remaining before he can rejoin the Yankees. "We’re hitting all the baseball stuff — throwing to bases, throwing, running the bases, hitting, getting on the field, moving around," Judge said. "I think just facing some live pitching [is next] and then we’ll get back out there."

He is not expected to face live pitching until the Yankees return to New York on Monday. Manager Aaron Boone indicated that Judge might need to face live pitching a couple of times before being cleared for a game. Judge has been hitting off a high-velocity pitching machine and a Trajekt simulator during his rehabilitation.

"He’s been hitting a lot now in the cage, pretty intense," Boone commented. "It’ll be good to see him out here — it’s one of the boxes, I guess, but he’s done more behind the scenes already than hitting BP."

The captain expressed his desire to skip a minor league rehab assignment and return directly to game action. Boone stated that a return during the upcoming homestand, which runs Tuesday through Sunday against the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets, is "possible."

"I wanted to be back June 1 and that didn’t happen," Judge said. "I’ll leave it up to the manager when he wants to put me in there." He added that while it's starting to feel real, he is frustrated by the duration of his absence. "I wish it was real two months ago. But we’re at this point and we’re getting close. Can’t wait to be back out there."

Judge has been working to increase his workload after being sidelined for over three months. "We feel good," he said. "Just trying to get the volume up so we can be in a good spot, because not doing nothing for three months, it feels like it’s an offseason and you’re going back into spring training."

The Yankees, currently in contention for the AL East title, await the return of their captain as he continues to progress through the final stages of his recovery.