Aaron Judge is making some serious noise about skipping a minor league rehab assignment before he makes his big return to the New York Yankees. The dude is closing in on three months recovering from a stress fracture in his right rib, and he’s basically telling the brass, “I’m good to go, no detours needed.” This isn’t just a minor detail; it’s Judge betting on himself, and it puts the Yankees in a spot.
The Captain’s Call: “I Think We’re Ready To Go Play”
Judge is upfront about it. “If I tell them I’m ready to go play, I think we’re ready to go play,” he said Thursday. He’s not a pitcher, right? He’s a position player. He figures he can get all his reps in the batting cage. He’s in the dugout for every game, feeling the energy and environment, so he doesn’t think a rehab stint would make much of a difference. And hey, he’s done it before. In 2023, he totally skipped rehab after missing 42 games with a fractured toe. That was after he crashed into the right-field fence at Dodger Stadium, a gnarly injury. Back in 2019, though, he did play five minor league games when he was out for two months with a strained left oblique. Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledges Judge’s mindset, saying, “He said that to me, too,” and promising, “If and when we get to that point, we’ll work through all that.” You gotta wonder if Boone is going to push back or if he trusts his captain completely.
Judge’s Progress & The Team’s Reality Check
The good news is Judge is actually making moves. He started taking swings in the indoor batting cages Tuesday, and he’s been doing some running and throwing out in the outfield recently. He’s not putting a target date on his return, but he says he’s only feeling normal soreness, nothing more. “Obviously, there’s soreness from not doing anything for the past couple of weeks, but now we’re building that up and we’re in a good spot,” Judge noted, emphasizing, “So, there has not been any setbacks, which is the greatest thing.” This guy feels “great,” and that’s why they’re “speeding through this” and doing “more outside, doing more in the cage.” His goal is to build up the “volume” so he can “finish the season strong.”
This isn’t just about Judge’s ego, though. The Yankees need him. As of Thursday night, he’d missed his 74th game since May 31. Without their slugger, the Yankees are 39-34 during that stretch, even with a decent 11-6 run in their past 17 games. Before he went on the injured list, Judge was hitting .248 with 17 homers and 38 RBIs. He was struggling a bit, with only one homer in his final 18 games before getting sidelined,a game-ending, two-run shot on May 24 that broke an 11-game RBI drought. He was initially hurt on April 26 trying to avoid second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a diving catch in Houston. Before that, he was batting .263 with seven homers and 20 RBIs in 31 games. Compare that to his 2025 batting title season where he hit a career-high .331 with 53 homers and 114 RBIs in 152 games. The difference is stark, and the Yankees are certainly feeling it.
Adding to the pitching woes, reliever Fernando Cruz is awaiting news from Dr. Keith Meister about a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The dude was put on the 15-day injured list Wednesday after giving up his fifth homer since the All-Star break and telling the team he was in pain. An MRI showed the tear, and he’ll know in the next two to three days if surgery is needed. Cruz, in his second season with the Yankees, is 4-6 with a 3.13 ERA in 61 appearances.
With Judge pushing for an immediate return and Cruz facing a potential season-ending surgery, the Yankees are dealing with major questions about their roster and how they’ll finish out this regular season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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