When the New York Yankees placed Aaron Judge on the injured list May 31 with a stress fracture in his right rib, the timetable for his return looked murky. And while Judge is still a ways off from playing in a game that counts, he's been cleared to begin taking swings off a batting tee — a necessary first step for the Yankees to get Judge back in action this year. "It’ll be good to see him tomorrow when we get home.” After winning the American League MVP award each of the last two seasons, Judge has run out of time to jump back in that race.
The eight-time All-Star can still help the Yankees chase down the Tampa Bay Rays as the regular season comes down to its final stretch. New York would love to begin their postseason with a first-round bye — and their best hitter in the lineup. More news: Yankees Legends Pay Tribute to Tommy John Swinging off a practice tee is hardly the same as hitting a 100-mph fastball, but it will help the team gauge whether rest and rehab has helped Judge’s rib heal enough to move forward in his hitting progression.
Without Judge and injured outfielders Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees entered play Thursday with MLB's 26th-best in wRC+ (73) this month. Their .208 batting average in August is better only than the Cincinnati Reds (.195). More news: Two-Time MLB All-Star Reveals He’s Retiring at 33 Coincidentally, Bellinger was cleared to commence a minor league rehabilitation assignment with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Yankees’ top farm team, on Thursday.
Stanton does not have a timeline to return to baseball activities. Judge tried playing through his injury in May before ultimately succumbing to the injured list. At the time, he had a .248 batting average, .375 on-base percentage, .907 OPS, 17 home runs and 38 RBIs across 59 MLB games.
More news: Grading the Trade Deadline: MLB’s Biggest Winners and Losers According to MLB.com, Judge was limited to lower-body and light resistance training for weeks, before recently being cleared to resume playing catch, run outdoors and perform upper-body resistance training. For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports.
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