NEW YORK -- Despite the uncertainty surrounding Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge’s right rib stress fracture in the early stages, there was never a doubt in manager Aaron Boone’s mind that he would get to pencil his captain’s name back into the lineup before the season ended.
It took a little while -- 100 days, to be exact, since he landed on the injured list -- and a lot of patience, but Boone finally got the chance to slot the three-time American League MVP back into the No. 3 spot for Tuesday’s series opener against the Rockies.
And at least in Boone’s eyes, the heightened excitement around Yankee Stadium with Judge’s presence looming as more than a whisper, both in the clubhouse and on the field during batting practice, is quite palpable.
“I think it's real. His presence is very real,” Boone said pregame. “Obviously, you know what he means to those guys, not only as a player but as a person in that room, as a captain -- I think everyone’s excited. … It’s been a long time coming, and I know he’s been champing at the bit here the last few days.”
Judge returned to the Yankees’ lineup, manning right field and situated between Cody Bellinger and Luis García Jr., breaking up New York’s logjam of left-handers with arguably the best hitter in baseball. Before Judge was activated on Monday, he went through a full workout at Yankee Stadium, taking multiple at-bats against live pitching and replicating playing defense for a few innings.
In the leadup to his return, Judge was clear about not wanting to go on a rehab assignment with the calendar hitting September and the club in a postseason race in the American League East; New York (81-62) entered Monday four games behind Tampa Bay (85-58). The compromise settled among Judge, Boone, strength and conditioning coach Brett McCabe and the rest of the training staff was to treat the initial series against Colorado like a quasi-rehab assignment, wanting to “build him up smartly.”
“He won’t play the whole game today, even though he wants to,” Boone said. “I’m going to be mindful of that, especially this first week. He’ll probably have one of the days this series off. We’ll adjust each night on what we see.”
However, that does not mean that Judge will be handled with kid gloves. According to Boone, he has been “asymptomatic” for weeks, which was one of the first boxes that Judge and the staff had to check. As he ramped up strengthening and running, Judge reported that he was not feeling any restrictions in his workouts. It also helps that patience informed the club’s decisions up until the point of Judge’s activation.
When center fielder Trent Grisham reinjured his right hamstring on Friday against the Padres, Judge made it known that he felt ready to return if needed -- “He actually appeared at my door in San Diego … like, ‘Ready to go tomorrow,’” Boone said. But the coaching staff wanted him to check a few more boxes and see a bit more live pitching, with the series against the Rockies already circled as a potential return target.
For now, the plan is for Judge to play right field -- where he’s sporting -2 outs above average and a -1 fielding run value this season -- when he’s in the lineup, hopefully avoiding the designated hitter role. But since the initial stress fracture occurred on a diving attempt on a pop fly in Houston on April 26, Boone and the Yankees hope that Judge takes care of himself on the defensive side, without sacrificing his capability with the glove.
“I’d like him to be cautious with that stuff, and he will,” Boone said. “Even though he probably got hurt doing something like that [diving catches], if you really watch over the last several years, he’s done a good job of learning to rein it in and not do certain things in certain situations. He is aware of those things, probably even more hyperaware of it now. …
“You know, the one thing when watching him move out there is, I feel like he’s moving really well. So I expect him to play very well out there.”