NEW YORK — Nearly two months since he last took the field, a scan this week showed Aaron Judge’s fractured rib has still not healed enough for him to resume baseball activities and his next step remains unclear.
But Judge, and later Yankees manager Aaron Boone, insisted Friday that the plan remains for him to return this season. It’s just a matter of when.
“I don’t know why I wouldn’t [return],” Judge said.
Judge has not played since May 31 because of a stress fracture in his first right rib. Re-imaging Wednesday showed partial healing, which Judge described as a positive result, but the Yankees are waiting to hear from Dr. Gregory Pearl, a Dallas-based specialist, before deciding the plan moving forward.
“We’ve got a big team of guys looking at this just so we can get the best answer and have the right plans,” Judge said.
The three-time American League MVP said he’s “feeling better” than when he initially suffered the injury. He described “a couple weeks that were tough” when he was not able to do much, but was “feeling 10 times better.” Still, he has been limited to incline walking on a treadmill and neck exercises as the rib progresses.
Judge, 34, said he sustained the injury diving for a flyball in late April. He subsequently played through pain and his production nosedived; after hitting 16 home runs with a 1.047 OPS in 43 games through May 12, Judge had one home run with a .550 OPS in his next 16 games. General manager Brian Cashman later said Judge “probably” made the injury worse by playing with it.
Judge was diagnosed with a stress fracture in nearly the same spot and a partially collapsed lung in March 2020 after diving for a ball in September 2019. He played with that injury through the end of the season and didn’t miss any games in 2020 because the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the season. A right calf strain ended up limiting him to 28 games as he finished the year batting .257 with nine home runs and a .891 OPS, his career low for a full season.
This year, the Yankees, after going 36-23 with Judge, are 18-19 without him entering Friday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They’ve also been without Giancarlo Stanton (calf) since April 24, Max Fried (elbow) since May 16 and Carlos Rodón (elbow) since July 3.
The Yankees expect Fried to return first among that group. The left-hander is scheduled to throw 50 pitches in his first rehab start Friday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Boone said the plan is for him to make another start in five days before the club will consider activating him from the injured list.
Judge’s return, however, remains a mystery.
“I feel good about the fact that he’ll be back,” Boone said. “It’s just a matter of when.”