NEW YORK — Aaron Judge has taken the next step in his rehab process after a toe injury he sustained in Los Angeles a month ago. Judge told reporters Tuesday morning that he had begun light batting practice, including hitting from the tee and a couple of soft throws in the cage.
He began playing catch with the team in Oakland last week and is slowly preparing for a return later this season. The timeline of when Judge could potentially return is still unclear as he is nowhere near 100 percent healthy.
“Besides running, for me it’s the ability to put 270 pounds on one leg while batting,” Judge said of the key factors in his potential return. “Once we build that strength and get rid of the pain, we’ll be in a good position. I kind of understand you’re struggling with the pain coming back, so it’s just a matter of getting to a point where it’s bearable and we’re not going to get stuck here again.”
The judge said he expects to struggle with pain in his toe for the rest of the season. Surgery at this point has been ruled out as it would put him out of action for the season.
“We’re not doing that this year,” Judge said.
“If it’s true and if he’s able to go, he’ll be able to go and he’s confident he’ll make it at the level that we’re used to,” Yankees manager Aaron added Boone added. “I feel like he’s making really good progress in that regard. But in terms of time, it’s going to be that long before he’s able to go out there and be Aaron Judge in full force.”
The reigning American League MVP hasn’t ruled out a possible off-season surgery, but there’s still some time before that is decided at a later date. When Judge returns, he expects to play with a special insole in his right shoe sole to keep his toe from bending. When Judge last spoke to reporters in New York, he mentioned that he still has pain when walking. It’s gotten better, but “it still doesn’t feel good,” according to Judge, and “I don’t think it’ll ever be normal.”
That last comment was remarkable and when asked what he meant by that, Judge mentioned that he still felt pain in his pinky finger after dislocating it two years ago. The pain from some of his other injuries still creeps in from time to time.
“The most important thing is that we want him to do things that he can take without causing himself a lot of pain,” Boone said. “Right now I know he’s been teeing off the last few days and that’s been going well. It’s obviously not totally boring, but I think it’s probably been about a week since he showed me a little bit of standing on his butt a little and spinning on it a little. Those are the small steps we’re seeing where he’s getting better and getting closer, but it will depend on how he reacts to everything in a way that he can tolerate things.”
Right now, rest is the only thing that can speed up the recovery process, Richter said. The next step for Judge’s comeback is to test his toe with running exercises.
“If I can walk, I can play, but if I’m running at 10 percent, that’s not going to help anyone out there,” Judge said.
Judge said he’s still unsure if he’ll be traveling to Seattle for the All-Star Game celebrations next week to participate in game preparation. His schedule makes it nearly impossible for him to take part in the game. But the Yankees are more concerned with winning back Judge while continuing to compete in the wildcard race. Knowing that Judge has a history of showing his ability to pull through a variety of injuries makes Boone optimistic their superstar will do the same when he returns to the lineup.
“I think he’s gotten really good at playing with things, whatever they are, over the last few years,” Boone said. “I feel like he did a really good job of understanding how to govern things and how to enforce certain things that not everyone can do.” He has demonstrated that ability. I think one of the biggest things in its development was how I can post something every day when I’m a little broken. He knows how to do that at a very high level.”
required reading
(Photo: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images)