New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge did some on-field work at Yankee Stadium prior to Thursday’s series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays as he continues his recovery from a flexor strain in his right elbow.
Judge was seen running down fly balls in right field, but did not throw the ball back into the infield, instead flipping them into a nearby bucket so as not to strain the impacted area. He even stood in the batter’s box for rehabbing reliever Mark Leiter Jr., though he did not swing the bat.
According to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, he has been doing some “light cage work behind the scenes,” which at least confirms that he is swinging a bat.
The 33-year-old was placed on the 10-day injured list on Sunday, and the Yankees are hopeful that he will return in some capacity when those 10 days are up. However, it will likely only be as a designated hitter, which will ensure his big bat gets back into the lineup while limiting any potential stress on the elbow that would come in the field.
With Judge returning as a DH, that means the Yankees would have to flex Giancarlo Stanton to the outfield to keep his bat in the mix. Granted, that could potentially exacerbate the team’s already alarming issue of poor defense, which has been headlined by Anthony Volpe’s constant struggles at shortstop.
It is a risk the Yankees are going to have to take, though. Judge is batting an MLB-best .342 this season with a 1.160 OPS, and ranks third with 37 home runs and 85 RBI.
