The latest imaging on Aaron Judge’s fractured first right rib showed improvement, but the three-time MVP still isn’t ready for baseball activities, the Yankees announced Friday.
Judge will have to undergo another round of imaging before that happens, a team spokesperson said. In the meantime, Judge will continue what has been a restrictive rehab progression thus far, though he and the Yankees are hoping that Dr. Gregory J. Pearl, a Dallas-based specialist, will clear the three-time MVP for upper-body workouts soon.
“We don’t want to just prematurely start doing some things and hurt us in the long run,” Judge said before the Yankees opened the second half against the Dodgers on Friday.
Judge, who had his rib reimaged on Wednesday during the All-Star break, added that it was “a positive sign” to see “some progress” and “some healing,” but he is “not fully healed.” Judge can still feel discomfort in his rib, but it’s now “10 times better” than when he first went on the injured list, he said.
The superstar, who hasn’t played since May 31, remains confident that he will return this year.
“Definitely,” Judge said. “I don’t see why I wouldn’t.”
Aaron Boone gave a similar response with just 66 games left in the season and the Aug. 3 trade deadline a little more than two weeks away. But when asked for a timeline, the manager said, “I have no idea.”
“I feel good about the fact that he’ll be back,” Boone said, “but it’s just a matter of when.”
Judge has been able to do lower-body and treadmill work over the last several weeks. He has also ridden a stationary bike, though he said he’s shied away from that more recently.
While the right fielder did say he’s been able to do some neck exercises, he otherwise hasn’t been able to do upper-body workouts. That means no heavy lifting or overhead exercises.
With his absence growing longer by the day, Judge will need a considerable amount of time to ramp up whenever he is cleared for baseball activities. When asked if he’ll need the equivalent of an entire spring training before getting into major league games, he replied, “I wouldn’t say that. I hate rehab games, so I gotta talk to them about all that. Because why waste at-bats in a rehab game? So we’ll see. I’m not too sure about that.”
Judge believes he first hurt himself in Houston on April 26 while trying to avoid second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a lunging catch attempt. The 34-year-old, who fractured the same rib on a diving play in September 2019, continued to play through the injury until the pain became too much during a road trip to Sacramento at the end of May.
Judge slumped prior to going on the IL, hitting .160 with a .550 OPS and one homer over his last 16 games and .207 with a .649 OPS and two dingers over his last 22 games.
Overall, Judge is hitting .248 with a .907 OPS, 17 home runs and 38 RBI over 59 games this year.
The Yankees, meanwhile, have struggled without their captain and most feared slugger. The club, which is also missing Giancarlo Stanton, Max Fried and Carlos Rodón, entered Friday’s game with an 18-19 record since Judge last played and were three games back of the first-place Rays.
“It’s been the worst,” Judge said of staying patient while stuck on the sidelines. “I want to play. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I get paid, is to play big games for the Yankees. Especially with the team we have and how special it is, how special this group is, I want to be a part of everything. So it’s been tough, but we got a lot of great guys in this clubhouse that have been holding their own and kind of carrying the weight of this team.”