Aaron Judge’s 4-6 Week Rib Injury Is Now Months, And His Return Is Still In ‘Early Stages’

The Yankees got a positive, if a little frustrating, update on Aaron Judge this week: their star slugger is finally gonna start his hitting progression. Yeah, you heard that right, *start* his hitting progression. The dude’s been sidelined since May 31 with a rib injury that was initially supposed to keep him out for just four to six weeks. It’s August 18, so we’re talking months now, not weeks.

The “Early Stages” Of A Long Haul

Manager Aaron Boone gave reporters the lowdown, saying Judge’s return is still in “early stages of baseball activity.” He’s been able to play catch, which is cool, but a stress fracture in his rib is clearly no joke. Boone expects him back “at some point this year,” but the ramp-up is gonna be slow. Before he went down, Judge wasn’t exactly having an MVP season, but he was still putting up numbers: a .248/.375/.533 slash line with 17 dingers and 38 RBI in 59 games. New York is seriously hoping he can find that MVP form if he gets back on the field before the season wraps up. Honestly, after that initial timeline, you gotta wonder what went sideways to stretch it out this long.

Another Arm Down, But Yankees Still In It

It’s not just Judge, either. The Yankees also just put reliever Max Fried on the 15-day injured list with a bone bruise in his pitching elbow. Boone called it a “precautionary measure,” saying they just wanted to “make sure we get this calmed down” to keep it from blowing up into a bigger issue. The bummer? Fried already missed two months earlier this season with the exact same injury. This team has been battling injuries all season, but somehow, they’re still grinding. They’re sitting at 69-55, good for second place in the AL East, and they’ve got an 8.5-game cushion in the wild-card race.

With just over a month left in the regular season, that wild-card lead is looking pretty solid. But imagine what they could do if Judge actually gets back and starts mashing. All eyes are gonna be on his hitting progression this week, hoping he can finally make some real strides and get back in the lineup.

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Originally reported by Bleacher Report.