NEW YORK -- About four hours before the series opener against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, Aaron Judge and Clint Frazier were out in right field. Frazier was working on his defense, as has been his routine lately. Judge was going through his daily rehab work, as he continues his progress back from his left oblique strain.
On Friday, that meant long tossing with Frazier and taking fly balls from outfield instructor Reggie Willits. Judge is also swinging and doing tee work -- and there's some encouraging news on that front.
"[Judge] definitely has started the ramp-up, but not hitting full bore in the cage yet," manager Aaron Boone said. "He's letting it go a little bit, and everything's going well with that. Swinging obviously is gonna be the biggest test, and he's letting it go pretty good. So now we'll start graduating him to cage hitting, and he'll start taking BP outside, and then you start progressing from there."
Judge, too, has been encouraged by how his rehab's been going.
"I'm just excited to be back on the field a little bit," Judge said. "It feels good to be getting closer. Still a ways away, still haven't hit in BP or anything, but we're getting there.
"I'm right where I need to be. Probably a little bit ahead of schedule -- which I like. Feeling good, no setbacks or anything. That's always a plus. And we keep winning."
Judge last played on April 20, the day he injured his oblique on a swing. In the weeks since, as the first-place Yankees have found ways to thrive amid the wave of injuries to their stars, Judge has continued to be an important presence in the clubhouse.
"Any time anybody wants to talk about a pitcher, or advice about something, if I see somebody down, I just try to pick them up and give them my two cents and keep their confidence up," Judge said.
Frazier's defense coming along
Friday's outfield work is one example of how Judge is impacting the team outside of game action. Combining his work with Frazier's defensive work has let Judge advise Frazier on how to handle right field at Yankee Stadium, where Judge has been a more than capable defender.
"I'm liking what I'm seeing out there so far," Judge said. "We're talking back and forth. I've been out there a little bit in right field; I've played that wall a little bit. I just give him some tips on that, tips on his reads. Sometimes the media can be a tough thing -- you make a couple of errors and everybody hops on you and says you've got bad defense. But really, his first initial reads are never bad, and that's what I try to preach to him: ‘Hey man, trust your instincts, you're an athlete.'"
Boone was happy to see Judge and Frazier working together and said Frazier is getting better.
"To Frazier's credit, he's worked really hard," Boone said. "Even though he's had some mistakes out there, and some drops and whatnot, some of the things we're seeing with him are really encouraging. From a first step, and just becoming a better overall outfielder, we feel he's made a lot of strides in that area."
Betances could start facing hitters soon
Dellin Betances long tossed on Friday and has a 30-pitch bullpen session scheduled for Sunday. If all goes well, facing hitters could be next.
"I think I'm getting closer," Betances said. "I'm not sure what's next after that, but I think I'm closer to throwing to hitters. Once you do that, I think everything kind of picks up from there."
Betances said that if all goes well in Sunday's bullpen session, he thinks he might head to the Yankees' complex in Tampa, Fla., when the team goes on the road next week. But that's not 100 percent.
The Yankees’ setup man hasn't pitched yet in 2019 as he rehabs a right shoulder impingement. He said his arm continues to feel stronger -- a big difference from where he was in Spring Training, when his usual high-90s fastball velocity dipped into the high 80s.
"I [didn’t feel good] in Spring Training," Betances said. "[Now] my arm feels good. The ball's coming out good. And I'm happy with that."
He said he's not sure if there's a certain level of velocity he needs to reach before he returns.
"Obviously, I don't want to keep throwing 88 [mph pitches] like I was in Spring Training," Betances said. "But I know the more I pitch, the stronger I will get. And we'll see where we're at.”
Boone said that Betances could be pitching to hitters or throwing a simulated game soon. Once he starts facing hitters -- assuming he has no further setbacks and checks certain boxes like pitching on back-to-back days -- it hopefully won't be too long until Betances is able to pitch in a big league game.
Stanton, Didi getting closer
Giancarlo Stanton, whose rehab from a left shoulder strain was set back by a left calf strain, is getting close to being able to restart his rehab assignment, Boone said.
Boone said that after Stanton ran on the field Thursday and continued his cage work and throwing program, he should be ready to start facing live pitching soon.
Didi Gregorius (Tommy John surgery), meanwhile, played shortstop for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday. Boone said the Yankees could still get their shortstop back during the team's upcoming road trip to Toronto and Cleveland next week.
This date in Yankees history
May 31, 1938: Lou Gehrig plays his 2,000th consecutive game, hitting an RBI single in a 12-5 win over the Red Sox.