The Yankees’ hopes of catching the Red Sox have been almost completely dashed, but when Boston comes to The Bronx on Tuesday, Aaron Judge could be waiting.
With the Yankees in dire need of a catalyst to stop their September slide, the slugger’s ability to produce to his standard after a long layoff will be key.
Aaron Boone said Sunday it was a “possibility” Judge would be in the lineup during the three-game series, despite the right fielder still needing to take simulated-game at-bats before he goes to the plate in an actual game.
“That’s potentially in the timeline, but I don’t think we’re there yet,” Boone said before the Yankees lost again, 3-2 to the Blue Jays on Sunday at the Stadium. “I’m not prepared to make that call yet, but around that time, we’ll be close. I would think at some point on this homestand, assuming everything continues to progress, he should be active.”
Judge was activated from the disabled list Friday, but he’s only been cleared to play in the field and run the bases after returning from the chip fracture in his right wrist suffered July 26.
He is expected to be at the Stadium on Monday to face live pitching for the first time since the injury, and that figures to go a long way in determining exactly when Judge gets in a game.
Judge said Sunday he no longer feels pain when he swings but that there is still occasional discomfort when he does “normal stuff.”
“Swinging? No, I’m fine,’’ Judge said of the wrist. “It’s been feeling good for a while.”
Boone said Judge could get 30-40 plate appearances by the end of the regular season if he continues to progress, and Judge is confident that will be enough at-bats for him to find his rhythm at the plate.
“It’s plenty of time,” Judge said.
“With hitting, I believe it’s one of those things that’s a little bit unpredictable, whether you’re a decent player or a great player, like Aaron Judge,” Boone said. “Sometimes that timing can happen quickly. Speaking from my experience, there are so many varying degrees of when it starts to click.”
Judge is slated to stay with the team and he hit off a high-velocity machine over the weekend.
“I also believe there are enough at-bats there, especially for a great player,” Boone said. “There’s a chance he could get into a flow and be the guy we’ve known.”
He played the final two innings of Friday’s blowout win in right but didn’t have a ball hit in his direction.
When the Yankees rallied in the bottom of the eighth that night and Judge’s spot in the lineup approached, Boone said he briefly considered sending Judge to the plate to track pitches.
“Of course [I] thought of that,” Boone said with a smile. “[Trainer] Steve Donohue would have tackled me. I told Steve I was gonna send him up on deck just to get him going. We would have pinch hit for him.”
Boone noted while it would have been valuable for Judge to see live pitching, even if he was instructed not to swing, “it’s still a game’’ and something could have gone wrong.
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