It took three months, but the Yankees finally have their captain back.
Aaron Judge has been progressing nicely over the past few weeks in his recovery from a fractured rib injury, and he finally received the okay to return on Tuesday night.
“It’s a long time coming,” Aaron Boone said. “He’s been chomping at the bit.”
Judge isn’t facing any restrictions in his return, so he jumped right back out there for the Yanks, batting third and playing his usual right field in the opener against the Rockies.
The slugger took three at-bats and played six innings in the field, which is part of the team’s plan as they look to play it smart with his build-up after opting to skip a minor league rehab assignment.
He missed a pair of middle-middle sliders before swinging through a fastball up in the zone, as Gabriel Hughes struck him out in his first plate appearance back.
Judge then got ahead 2-1 before flying out to center his second time around.
He worked a full count against left-hander Mark Manfredi in the sixth, but was called out looking at a fastball on the corner of the zone to end his night.
Boone expects to give Judge a full day off at some point during the final two games of this series, and they’ll take his build-up down the stretch on a night-to-night basis from there.
Either way, the Yanks certainly are thrilled to have him back in the mix.
“His presence is very real,” Boone said. “Obviously you know what he means to those guys not only as a player but as a person in that room and as a captain, so I think that everyone is excited that he’s back obviously.”
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