Heading into the New York Yankees game today, outfielder Aaron Judge remains sidelined by the toe injury that he suffered a month ago against the Los Angeles Dodgers. With the MLB All-Star Game, it appears a return still isn’t in the immediate future.
Judge last played on June 3, with New York holding him out of the lineup the following day due to soreness in his toe. He was placed on the 10-day injured list June 6, with the Yankees hoping that he wouldn’t miss significant time with a contusion and ligament sprain in the right big toe.
- Aaron Judge stats (2023): .291/.404/.675, 1.078 OPS, 19 home runs, 40 RBI in 49 games
Related: Aaron Judge sheds light on the severity of injury
Three weeks later, manager Aaron Boone told reporters that the club hoped Judge would resume light-hitting activities within days. Less than 24 hours later, the reigning AL MVP revealed he is recovering from a torn ligament and he still experienced pain in the toe when he walks.
It delayed his timeline for return, leaving fans hoping that he would recover quickly and begin working his way toward a rehab assignment. New York announced on June 28 that Judge resumed some baseball activities, a positive sign for his eventual return.
However, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports shared before Saturday’s pre-game show that Judge is only playing catch and the Yankees still have no timeframe for his return to baseball.
“The Yankees have been very close to the vest on this, perhaps because they simply don’t know. He resumed baseball activities on Wednesday, but that mostly consists of playing catch. He wants to take swings, non-contact swings, but reportedly that has not happened yet. The timeline for his return is unclear, it seems pretty clear to me that he’s not going to be back for the All-Star Game.”
Ken Rosenthal on New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge
Related: MLB power rankings
Since placing Judge on the injured list, New York is 11-12 over the last month. While its pitching staff has posted a strong 3.48 ERA across 204.1 innings, the Yankees’ lineup is responsible for a league-worst .219 batting average, .287 on-base percentage and ranks 29th in OPS (.654).
Judge won’t be back before the All-Star Break and at this rate, there are no guarantees he’ll return to the Yankees’ lineup in July. Until New York provides more clarity on the matter, the small updates regarding Judge’s activity in light baseball activities are only a slight glimmer of hope for the team’s playoff chances.
