Aaron Judge keeps making progress in his rehab from a stress fracture in his first right rib. His confidence was made clear as Judge explained to the New York Yankees why he hopes to bypass a rehab assignment in the minor leagues. Clearly, the three-time MVP wants to be back in MLB action, and he believes it won’t be long before he actually is.
Speaking to media ahead of the rubber game between the Yankees and Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium, Judge got his message across. Asked about his progress and where he stands after his first overhand batting practice, the Yankees‘ right fielder voiced a confident statement.
“I’m not really expecting it to take me too long to get the timing back,” Judge stated, as reported by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. While Judge’s confidence and visible improvements are encouraging, they all come on the heels of Aaron Boone’s message cautioning that Judge’s rehab could face setbacks and changes.
New York will gladly take every positive update surrounding Judge, and so will Boone, who boosted the hype with one of his latest updates. Still, the baseball club in the Bronx knows better than to get ahead of itself and take a big risk.
Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees.
Yankees will be careful with Judge
Patience is the name of the game, and the Yankees are sticking to it. Every option remains on the table, and Judge may not get his wish to skip a rehab assignment granted. All that matters—at least to the Bronx Bombers—is that Judge is trending toward a return soon in the 2026 MLB season.
Whether the Yankees save Judge’s return for Sept. 11 against the New York Mets, as a report suggests, or not matters little in the grand scheme of things. With the Yankees on the right path to make the postseason, Judge’s return to the lineup could be the perfect addition and may lead to fans looking past what was a disheartening trade deadline.
In more ways than one, No. 99 is the best reinforcement the team could make. Pitching help would have been nice, especially as New York loses starters and relievers on a concerning basis, but watching Judge in pinstripes again may make it all worth it. Obviously, it’s not as if the Yankees couldn’t have one without the other, but it would have led to some tough roster decisions come Sept. 1.
Judge has more boxes left to check
Although Judge impressed Boone during his first overhand batting practice since being placed on the 60-Day IL, he still faces a way to go before being completely cleared to return. Judge himself admitted what the next steps will probably be.
“[Judge] said he doesn’t know when he’ll be cleared to face velocity, but he’ll see a mix of Trajekt, machine work and maybe facing rehabbing pitchers like Clarke Schmidt,” Hoch reported on his X account.
Regardless of exactly when or how many steps he has yet to complete, all signs are pointing in the right direction. Moreover, Judge is feeling good and confident about where he is in his recovery, and that is always an encouraging sight to see. With the postseason looming on the horizon and the Yankees set for a pennant race in the AL East, the rest of the league should watch out because visits to Yankee Stadium are about to get a whole lot more intimidating.
