NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Aaron Judge has been cleared to begin light workout activity, and the New York Yankees captain said he will return this season from that’s sidelined him since May 31.
鈥淥h, I鈥檒l be back this season. I don鈥檛 know why I wouldn鈥檛 be,鈥� the three-time AL MVP said Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. 鈥淭hat was always the plan to come back 鈥� sooner than later, definitely. But I never had a thought of not playing this year.鈥�
Judge was on the field in baseball gear Wednesday afternoon, stretching, jogging and doing shuffle slides with a resistance band. He was given the green light to take a step forward in his recovery progression after undergoing his latest scan Tuesday.
鈥淏etter 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,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wish it was completely healed and the fracture was gone and start playing tomorrow, but that鈥檚 not the case. But, great step forward.鈥�
It will still be a while before Judge is back in the lineup. He must first advance to taking swings, and it remains unclear when that could occur.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 going to be the ultimate test, is hitting,鈥� Judge said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the most violent of it all, I think, more than running or lifting and stuff like that. So, once we keep progressing, everything鈥檚 feeling great, then we take another scan, see where it鈥檚 at and hopefully add in hitting and throwing and all that down the road.鈥�
Neither he nor Yankees manager Aaron Boone offered a target date for the outfielder’s return.
鈥淚鈥檝e got nothing for you on that yet. I just got the scan yesterday and the minute they said all right, we鈥檙e going to start running, I said, 鈥極K, I鈥檒l see you outside.鈥� So, I kind of forced them on that one,鈥� Judge said.
鈥淏ut, no, hopefully whenever we get a game plan, you guys will be somewhere on the list,鈥� the slugger added, drawing laughs from reporters. 鈥淣ot the top.鈥�
The 34-year-old Judge said he’s been telling the medical staff he鈥檚 鈥渇eeling great鈥� and wants to 鈥渒ind of get this thing moving.鈥�
Boone, however, said the eight-time All-Star is keeping the big picture in mind, too.
鈥淚 think he understands what鈥檚 at stake and his obviously importance to this club and wanting to get back out there 鈥� but he鈥檚 got to be whole, too,” Boone said. “So, I think he certainly wants to push the envelope as much as he possibly can, but also understands that healing needs to happen with this.
鈥淲e’re at that portion of the show now where he gets to start progressing,鈥� the manager explained. “It’s good to see him with his pinstripes on, in cleats, and heading out onto the field in the afternoon.鈥�
Judge is on the 60-day injured list with a stress fracture of his right rib. He is hitting .248 with 17 home runs, 38 RBIs and a .907 OPS this year, but he had just one homer in his last 18 games before going on the IL.
鈥淚t was great being on the field, great being back out there,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been with the guys as much as I can, especially on the road or here in the dugout. But to actually feel like a little bit of a player felt great.鈥�
Going into Wednesday night’s series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Yankees (64-50) were 28-27 since Judge last played on May 31 鈥� although their offense has been one of the worst in the majors during that stretch.
New York also has been without designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton since April 25 because of and All-Star left fielder Cody Bellinger since July 26 due to . Bellinger, expected to miss four to six weeks, took batting practice on the field Wednesday.
Looking to boost their lineup, the ahead of . They entered Wednesday night trailing first-place Tampa Bay by four games in the AL East and holding the league’s top wild card.
鈥淚鈥檝e got a broken rib, so you鈥檙e going to feel it. But it鈥檚 healing up. So that鈥檚 the progress we want to see so we can start doing some more and kind of testing and see where we鈥檙e at,鈥� Judge said. 鈥淏ecause we鈥檙e running out of days. I know we鈥檝e got 52 days left, 53 days left, so, got to get back out there.鈥�
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