NEW YORK -- As he continues to make steady progress toward a long-awaited return from a stress fracture in his rib, New York Yankees star Aaron Judge was adamant Thursday that he will not need to go on a rehab assignment when he is cleared to play in games.
"Why waste at-bats? Why waste anything down in a minor league game?" Judge said. "I've been doing this for a while now and I got a sense of what I need to do on the field and how to manage it. So why waste the at-bats in Double-A or Triple-A?"
Yankees manager Aaron Boone noted that Judge also communicated that sentiment with him and that the team will "work through all that" when the time comes.
"The biggest thing sometimes with rehabs is just building guys up and getting them used to playing and stuff," Boone said. "So there's also creative ways of doing that, though, too."
Judge pointed out that he did not go on a rehab assignment when he missed nearly two months with a torn ligament in his right big toe in 2023. This absence will be for more than three months; Judge hasn't played in a game since May 31 after playing with pain for over a month. And he still needs multiple weeks to check the final boxes in his rehab process with the regular season winding down.
When, exactly, the 34-year-old Judge will be cleared to play in games remains uncertain. Judge on Thursday hinted at needing to "be smart over the next couple of weeks" while ramping up his activity. He said he has not undergone another scan to measure the rib's healing since he was cleared for light physical activity at the beginning of the month.
"I was hesitant about getting a scan in the first place because usually they base everything off that," Judge said. "But I was kinda just basing it off how I feel, and if I'm feeling good, why can't we keep progressing. So we'll just keep progressing."
The three-time American League MVP took a significant step forward Tuesday when, after being limited to toss and tee work, he took 15 swings against overhand pitches in the batting cage.
"I stopped and watched half a dozen swings or so," Boone said. "It's like, 'That's Aaron Judge there.' So, it was encouraging."
Judge was scheduled for another such batting practice session Thursday as he builds volume. The next steps are hitting high velocity off a standard pitching machine and a Trajekt machine before facing live pitching.
Asked if he believes his bat speed and power will return to his pre-injury form, Judge acknowledged that isn't guaranteed.
"I think we won't really see until we get out there in some games and stuff," Judge said. "But I'm not too worried about the power or bat speed because I feel like even if it's a tick off, I think it's still better than nothing."
The Yankees have been one of the worst offenses in the majors during Judge's absence, though their 24 runs over their last three games entering Thursday were encouraging. New York ranked 28th in runs scored, 30th in batting average, 28th in OPS and 29th in wRC+ across the majors since June 1 before concluding its three-game series against the Houston Astros.
According to Boone, the plan is for Judge to return as the Yankees' starting right fielder with the occasional day at designated hitter sprinkled into his workload despite the inherent risk playing the field presents. Judge has suffered the injury twice in his career diving for balls -- the first instance happened in September 2019 -- and Boone this week said he doesn't expect Judge to dive for balls when he returns.
Judge said he had done "a pretty good job" of protecting himself from reinjuring the rib in recent years, calling the setback he suffered in late April "a fluke thing." Nearly three months since last playing, he's nearing a return that could dramatically change the trajectory of the Yankees' season.
"I'm going to play smart," Judge said. "I'm going to still try to go out there and make every play I can, but you've got to be smart, especially near the end of the year now. If it's Game 7 of the World Series, I'll definitely be diving so I don't think that'll ever change, but just be smart over the next couple of weeks as we get back and we'll be good."
