New York Yankees Superstar Aaron Judge Inching Closer to Return From Toe Injury
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is running the bases for the first time since suffering a toe injury in early June, the New York Post's Greg Joyce reported first on Wednesday.
Judge last played on June 3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, missing New York's last 36 games with a right great toe sprain. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 7.
The last positive update on Judge's status came when he took on-field batting practice at Coors Field in Colorado on July 14.
This isn't Judge's first stint on the injured list this season, either. Judge also missed 10 games from April 28 to May 8 due to a right hip sprain.
The Yankees are 30-19 with Judge and 20-25 without him.
Judge is hitting .291 with a 1.078 OPS in 2023, but he only has 19 home runs and 40 RBI as a result of him only playing in 49 games. If he had appeared in as many games as he did last season, Judge would have been on pace for 61 home runs and 128 RBI.
Those aren't far off of Judge's actual numbers from 2022, when he won American League MVP. Judge set the new AL record with 62 home runs, all while hitting .311 with 131 RBI and an 1.111 OPS.
Judge led the league in home runs, RBI, runs, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS, falling five batting average points shy of winning the Triple Crown.
Even though he was churning out similar production at the plate to start 2023, Judge may need some time to ramp things back up once he returns from injury.
The Yankees are in last place in the AL East at 50-46, and they are 2.5 games out of the third and final AL Wild Card spot.
New York will close out its three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night at 7:07 p.m. ET, looking to avoid a sweep. From there, the Yankees will return to the Bronx for a series against the Kansas City Royals that gets underway Friday.
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