Aaron Judge is finally back.
The New York Yankees star will rejoin their lineup on Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies after missing the last three months with a stress fracture in his rib. The Yankees officially activated Judge on Sunday night.
Last week, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Judge was progressing in his recovery and was focused on getting reps in and building up his workload. The reigning American League batting champion was also keen to skip doing a minor-league rehab assignment before returning fully. He told reporters that once he felt ready to play, he would be good to go in the big leagues.
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The Yankees just finished off a six-game West Coast road trip and are returning home Tuesday night to begin a six-game homestand against the Rockies and New York Mets. They sit at 81-62 after Sunday’s loss to the San Diego Padres. They are second in the AL East race, four games back from the Tampa Bay Rays and securely in position for the top AL wild-card spot.
Judge joined the team for its games against the Los Angeles Angels and Padres while continuing his recovery process. Boone was optimistic that an MLB return was inching closer for the Yankees captain.
“He’s here to kind of continue to ramp up baseball activities,” Boone said last Monday. “We’re getting closer, but we feel good about where he’s at.”
The three-time AL MVP has been slowly ramping up his recovery going from playing catch in mid-August to taking batting practice off a pitching machine earlier this month.
The 34-year-old Judge last played on May 31 against the Athletics. Through 59 games, he has recorded 17 home runs, 38 RBI and is batting a career-worst .248.
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