Aaron Judge stood in against live pitching at Yankee Stadium on Mondayfor the first time since he broke his rib in the spring. Later that day the Yankees put him back on the active roster, meaning he could be back in the lineup as soon as Tuesday evening against the Rockies at the Stadium.
With about three weeks left and the Yankees just four games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East, getting his bat back in the lineup is a huge boost.
Judge, who was seen at the US Open after his workout on Monday, was reinstated from the 60-day injured list, the club announced. The Yankees designated right-hander Chase Hampton for assignment.
Judge, 34, hasn't played since May 31.
The Yankees were 36-23 in the games he played this season, a .610
winning clip. That are 45-39 since he went on the injured list and are 81-62 overall.
They enter Tuesday night's series-opener two games ahead of the Red Sox in the top AL wild card spot.
Judge injured his rib April 26 in Houston, diving out of the way of a teammate on a ball in the gap. He played another five weeks on it. He went on the 10-day IL on June 5 and moved to the 60-day on July 18 after a scan reviewed by a vascular surgeon in Texas showed he still wasn't ready to start baseball activities. It is the second time he has had this injury, but the first time he didn't miss games because it was during the COVID-19 shutdown.
He wasn't right before he went down, either. Judge hit .248 with 17 home runs and 38 RBI in 59 games, with one homer over his final 18. He was still walking enough to post a .375 on-base percentage.
Manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Judge was "close to the endgame of being ready to play." Boone sidestepped when directly asked if Judge would play Tuesday.
Judge didn't want a minor league rehab assignment. He argued there was no sense burning at-bats in Somerset with the calendar this short. Monday's session against a pitcher throwing with intent was as close as the Yankees are going to get to a rehab for him.
Boone has two ideas for building Judge back up in the majors. He can play him five, six or seven innings and then pull him. Or he will give him a full game and then a day off to let the rib recover.
The Yankees said they planned to use him in right field rather than at designated hitter. Their other big slugging DH, Giancarlo Stanton, has been on the IL since April 24.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New York Yankees activate Aaron Judge off injured list
