NEW YORK (AP) — After missing more than three months, Aaron Judge is ready to return to the New York Yankees.
The three-time MVP was reinstated from the 60-day injured list Monday night, an off day for the Yankees. They open a three-game series at home Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies.
Judge hasn’t played since May 31 because of a broken right rib, but the slugger traveled with the Yankees on their recent trip to the West Coast. He took batting practice on the field multiple times last weekend in San Diego and ran the bases as he worked toward his return.
The outfielder will rejoin New York’s active roster without going on a minor league rehab assignment first. Throughout his absence, Judge said he wouldn’t need a stint in the minors to get ready.
“If I tell them I’m ready to go play, I think we’re ready to go play,” Judge said on Aug. 27. “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.”
With 19 games remaining in the regular season, the Yankees (81-62) trail first-place Tampa Bay by four games in the AL East. They are two games ahead of rival Boston (80-65) for the top American League wild card and hold a potential tiebreaker between the teams after winning the season series.
The higher seed plays at home throughout every best-of-three Wild Card Series.
New York was 36-23 after Judge last played on May 31 and went 45-39 in the 84 games he missed since.
The offense, however, was obviously affected. The Yankees batted .243 with 86 homers in 59 games through May 31 but hit only .227 with 107 homers in 84 games while Judge was out.
Their batting average during that stretch ranked 29th among the 30 major league teams, ahead of only Seattle (.225).
New York had a .770 OPS through May 31, but it was .681 in his absence.
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.
The 35-year-old captain’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 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.
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.
To make room on the 40-man roster for Judge, right-hander Chase Hampton was designated for assignment Monday night.
New York optioned right-hander Elmer Rodríguez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Sunday’s loss in San Diego.
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