Aaron Judge hopes to skip minor league rehab assignment before returning to Yankees

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge is hoping to skip a minor league rehabilitation assignment before returning to the New York Yankees as he nears the three-month mark in his recovery from a stress fracture in his right rib.

“If I tell them I’m ready to go play, I think we’re ready to go play,” Judge said Thursday before the Yankees concluded a three-game series with Houston. “I’m not a pitcher. I’m a position player. I can get my reps down here in the cage. I’m in every game. I’m sitting there in the dugout watching every game, feeling the environment, feeling the energy, so I don’t think there’s going to be much of a difference.”

Judge skipped a rehab assignment in 2023 when he missed 42 games with a fractured right big toe after crashing into the right-field fence at Dodger Stadium. In 2019, he appeared in five minor league games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when he missed two months with a strained left oblique.

“He said that to me, too,” manager Aaron Boone said. “If and when we get to that point, we’ll work through all that.”

Judge began taking swings in the indoor batting cages Tuesday. The three-time AL MVP also recently started doing some running and throwing in the outfield.

The Yankees' captain declined to offer a target date for his return, but said he's not feeling anything other than normal soreness.

“Obviously, there’s soreness from not doing anything for the past couple of weeks, but now we’re building that up and we’re in a good spot,” Judge said. “So, there has not been any setbacks, which is the greatest thing.”

Judge missed his 74th game Thursday night since he last played on May 31. The Yankees entered 39-34 without him during that stretch, including 11-6 in their past 17 games.

The 35-year-old slugger's only homer in the final 18 games before he went on the injured list was a game-ending, two-run shot to beat Tampa Bay 2-0 on May 24 that snapped an 11-game drought without an RBI, the longest of his career.

Judge is hitting .248 with 17 homers and 38 RBIs. He was initially injured attempting to avoid second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a diving catch in Houston on April 26 and batted .263 with seven homers and 20 RBIs in 31 games before being sidelined.

“I feel great,” Judge said. “So, I think that’s one reason why we’re kind of speeding through this and really doing more outside, doing more in the cage. Things are feeling good.

“Now it’s about volume, trying to get my volume back up since I haven’t played in quite a long time. So just build up the volume so I can go out there and finish the season strong."

Judge won a batting title last season when he hit a career-high .331 with 53 homers and 114 RBIs in 152 games. He missed 10 games from July 26 to Aug. 4 with a flexor strain in his right elbow that he sustained on a throw to home plate July 22 in Toronto. He underwent a plasma-rich platelet injection and did not require offseason surgery.

A day after getting diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, reliever Fernando Cruz is awaiting the findings from Dr. Keith Meister to see if he needs surgery.

Cruz was placed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday after allowing his fifth homer since the All-Star break a day earlier and telling the Yankees he felt pain. An MRI showed the tear and Cruz should know in two to three days if surgery is necessary.

In his second season with the Yankees, Cruz is 4-6 with a 3.13 ERA in 61 appearances. He allowed a tying, two-run homer to Jeremy Peña on a fastball in the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s 9-7 loss to the Astros and has a 5.52 ERA in 17 appearances since the All-Star break.

“I made the decision to let (them) know because I knew I was affecting the New York Yankees,” Cruz said. “I wasn’t affecting Fernando Cruz, and obviously the MRI came back in a way that nobody wants, nobody expected, but it’s just part of this game and I think we’re waiting for options to come down and make the best decision.”

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