Aaron Judge is still progressing through his throwing program, but his return to the outfield is getting closer and closer.
Aaron Boone said Tuesday that it’s “possible” that Judge, nursing a right flexor strain, will return to right field during the Yankees’ upcoming weekend series in St. Louis. Nothing is set in stone, though.
Earlier in the day, the manager told the Talkin’ Yanks podcast that he’s hopeful Judge will take that step at some point during the Bombers’ upcoming road trip, which also takes them to Tampa.
“The throwing program seems to be going well. He seems to be improving each time, so we’ll see” Boone said of Judge, who has strictly been DH’ing since returning from his injury on Aug. 5.
With Judge restricted to DH duties, Giancarlo Stanton has gotten starts in right field since his teammate’s return. Stanton did not play the field at all this season prior to Judge’s injury or last season, but he found himself making a second consecutive start in right on Tuesday.
Stanton, plagued by lower-body injuries throughout his career, as well as tennis elbows this season, had not started in the outfield in back-to-back games since 2023, when he did so from Aug. 2-3.
“I just feel like he’s responded well to it physically,” Boone said. “And obviously, I want to keep his bat in there as much as possible, too.
“G’s about winning, and that’s all he really cares about. He knows there’s things you gotta sacrifice along the way, and he’s been willing to do that.”
While Boone initially made it sound like Stanton would only play the outfield sparingly, getting the active home run leader’s bat into the Yankees’ lineup has become a must. Stanton has been on fire, crushing all 11 of his home runs over his last 29 games entering Tuesday. He was also hitting .298 with a 1.042 OPS over that stretch.
Judge, on the other hand, was working on another MVP campaign before getting hurt. That’s still feasible, but he’s yet to get hot since coming off the IL, as he was 4-for-19 with zero extra-base hits and two RBI over six games prior to Tuesday.
Boone has not expressed concern over Judge’s at-bats or health, however, and he’s happy to have him and Stanton sharing the lineup.
“Especially with us being a little more left-handed now, to have two massive righty presences in the order and what they bring to the table is huge,” the skipper said.
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