The Yankees finally got a positive update on Aaron Judge, and for a team still looking for more punch, it matters.
After an active trade deadline that brought in Luis Garcia Jr. from the Washington Nationals and Heliot Ramos from the San Francisco Giants, New York still has obvious work to do on offense. One of the simplest ways to change that would be to get injured players back in the lineup, and Judge is the biggest name on that list.
According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Aaron Boone said Judge has moved into a new phase of his recovery.
"Aaron Judge underwent scans and has been cleared for light activity, including outdoor running and upper body resistance, Aaron Boone said," Hoch reports.
It may not sound like a huge leap on its own, but for a player who has been sidelined for a long stretch, it’s an important one. Judge has been out since playing his last game on May 31, putting him on the injured list for more than two months.
Before the injury, Judge had put together a strong season over 59 games, posting 2.1 bWAR with 17 home runs, 38 RBIs, a .907 OPS, and a 151 OPS+.
He still has not been cleared for baseball activities, so there’s no firm return date yet. Even so, this is the first real sign of progress in a while, and it gives the Yankees something they badly needed: a reason to believe the Judge comeback is finally starting to move forward.
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