The team said the slugging right fielder could only pinch-run or play defense for now. He has not played since fracturing a bone in his wrist on July 26.
After nearly seven weeks, Aaron Judge will be back on the Yankees’ roster for a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.
Judge, who has not played since suffering a chip fracture in his right wrist on July 26, was activated from the disabled list, but his presence Friday will be more ceremonial than functional. Manager Aaron Boone said that for now Judge’s use would be limited to pinch-running and possibly as a defensive replacement.
“Look, it’s Aaron Judge, so I think guys will be excited knowing what he means to the guys,” Boone said. “So hopefully it is something that just his presence and being on the bench, and maybe getting into a game, is something that can be something that uplifts the guys.”
But Boone said he did not know when Judge would be able to rejoin the batting order. Judge took batting practice with his teammates before all three games of the Yankees’ trip to Minnesota this week, and he hit again before Friday’s game. But he has yet to face pitching in either a rehab game or a simulated one. The expansion of rosters on Sept. 1, Boone said, made it possible for the Yankees to carry Judge as an inspirational presence for his teammates.
“Right now, I think it’s just a matter of building up that stamina and building up the amount of reps he’s able to do, because if anyone’s watching him take B. P., it’s pretty electric right now,” Boone said. “It’s coming off like Aaron Judge. So really it’s about just getting those repeated reps and start to really see some velocity and then we’ll get some pitchers to throw to him and then we go.”
Judge, whose 26 home runs are the second most on the club, has missed 45 games since being hit on the wrist by a pitch from Kansas City’s Jakob Junis. The Yankees were 25-20 in those games, and the distance between them and the first-place Boston Red Sox in the American League East has swelled from four and a half games to 10½ games entering Friday. In addition, their lead in the A. L. wild-card race has dwindled to a single game over the Oakland Athletics.
“He’s one of those special players, special people,” Boone said. “The impact that he has with everyone in that room, even being still a very young player, when Aaron speaks, people listen. He’s someone that you always want around impacting other people. I just told him tonight I’m excited that he’s going to have a jersey on and spikes on the bench. Hopefully he can impact us a little bit more even.”
