Aaron Judge Injury Update: Manager Aaron Boone Provides New Details

Aaron Judge's injury update has provided a glimmer of hope for the New York Yankees. The slugger has been on the 60-day IL since July 18 due to a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side. Manager Aaron Boone has now provided additional information on Judge's status, stating that there is healing going on, which is good, but he's still not able to start any baseball activities or anything.

What happened?

According to baseball reporter Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Boone weighed in on Judge's status. "There's healing going on, which is good, but he's still not able to start any baseball activities or anything," said Boone. "He needs to get to a point where he's asymptomatic, where you really start ramping up more upper-body stuff. The good news is, the pain is subsiding somewhat over the last couple weeks and changing from that sharp [pain] to more dull."

Why it matters for Aaron Judge

Judge's last game appearance was on May 31 when New York faced the Athletics. Before his injury, he was slashing .248/.375/.533 with a .908 OPS and 17 homers through 59 games. His absence has been felt, and any progress he makes is a welcome development for the team.

What comes next?

The Yankees are still waiting to see when Judge will be able to return to baseball activities. Boone's comments suggest that Judge still needs to meet certain criteria before he can start ramping up his upper-body work. The team will be keeping a close eye on his progress and will provide updates as more information becomes available.

The Yankees are currently ranked second in the American League East at 54-43 overall. They are just two wins below the Tampa Bay Rays (56-40). Lining up behind the Yankees in the AL East are the Boston Red Sox (48-48), the Baltimore Orioles (47-51), and the Toronto Blue Jays (46-52). In the Major Leagues as a whole, New York comes in at sixth, trailing the Chicago Cubs (55-43), the Atlanta Braves (56-40), the Rays, the Milwaukee Brewers (60-37), and their current opponents, the Los Angeles Dodgers (62-36).

The Dodgers had faced a brutal three-game losing skid to the Arizona Diamondbacks before heading to New York. Now, they're looking to get themselves back on track by clinching a victory at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees were handed a tight 2-1 loss in the series opener on Friday, but their chances of winning the stretch aren't over just yet.

Stanton has been out for quite some time, as his date reflects April 28. He is out with a right calf strain, with an expected return of July or August, per the Yankees' latest injury report. Before getting injured, he was slashing .256/.302/.422 with a .724 OPS and three home runs through 24 games. His last appearance was on April 24 against the Houston Astros.

The Yankees are scheduled to face the Los Angeles Dodgers for a second clash on Sunday, July 18, after the matchup was rescheduled from Saturday. They will now be playing a doubleheader to wrap up the three-game set.

category: club_news