Judge playing simulated games, Yankees not ruling out return this weekend

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge is taking part in simulated video games on the New York Yankees‘ coaching complicated in Tampa, Florida, as he will get nearer to coming back from a toe harm.

Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone mentioned Judge’s standing is “day by day” and he didn’t know if the slugger would require a minor league rehab task earlier than coming off the injured record.

When requested Tuesday if Judge might presumably play for New York at first-place Baltimore this weekend, Boone mentioned: “I wouldn’t rule something out.”

Last 12 months’s AL MVP has been sidelined since tearing a ligament in his proper massive toe June 3 when he crashed into the right-field fence whereas making a catch at Dodger Stadium.

His development has accelerated for the reason that All-Star break, and Judge confronted dwell pitching Sunday at Yankee Stadium for the primary time for the reason that harm. He noticed 16 pitches in a simulated recreation in opposition to teammate Jonathan Loáisiga, who’s rehabbing from proper elbow surgical procedure. Judge fouled off 4 and didn’t put any balls in play.

Boone mentioned Judge took at-bats Tuesday in Florida, performed the sphere for “five innings or so” and “ran the bases a little bit.”

“Hopefully more of the same and maybe a little more volume tomorrow,” Boone mentioned at Yankee Stadium earlier than his staff’s Subway Series opener in opposition to the New York Mets.

“Right now it’s just, down there we’re seeing how this goes and seeing if we can kind of script things and make sure he’s getting a lot of at-bats.”

Judge has acknowledged he received’t be pain-free when he returns, however the Yankees assume he’ll have the ability to play proper area relatively than simply function a chosen hitter.

“He just started taking live at-bats. So yeah, we’ll do whatever we have to do,” Boone said. “But he’s got to build up from kind of a workload standpoint of, you don’t just go from taking batting practice or lifting weights or working out to going out and playing nine innings, whether it’s DH or right field. But hoping and feeling that right field will be in play. So this is all just part of kind of building him up a little better.”