NEW YORK — While the rest of the Yankees roster stretched on the Yankee Stadium grass, Aaron Judge stood in an indoor cage and did something he had not done in three months. He tracked pitches thrown overhand and drove them, the first real hitting test of a rib that has kept the captain sidelined since late spring.
Manager Aaron Boone could not hide his interest. He gestured toward the tunnel as he spoke to reporters, aware that the sound coming from below carried the season’s biggest stakes.
“Judgie’s hitting down there right now,” Boone said. “He looks good.”
Judge has not played for the Yankees since May 31. He is dealing with a stress fracture in his right first rib, an injury he first felt in late April and tried to play through before landing on the injured list June 5. He was later moved to the 60-day list.
Tuesday marked a clear step. Judge hit against overhand pitching for the first time in his progression, after beginning with tee work last Thursday and adding underhand tosses. He also ran in right field and, a day earlier, threw from more than 100 feet and shagged fly balls during batting practice.
The Yankees have not set a firm timeline. The next hurdles are more demanding. Judge still must hit against velocity from a machine, then face live pitching, then almost certainly complete a minor league rehab assignment before returning to the Yankees lineup.
Boone described a plan that bends with each day rather than a fixed schedule.
“He’s got a calendar of what they’re doing, but you make adjustments to that as you go,” Boone said. “Sometimes that progress speeds up a little bit. Sometimes you take a step back.”
Boone bets on captain playing right field, not just DH
The Yankees could bring Judge back faster if they used him only as a designated hitter. They do not plan to. With Luis Garcia Jr., Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt rotating through first base and DH, Boone wants Judge in right field, even knowing the position carries more risk for a healing rib. Judge is believed to have first hurt it diving in the outfield.
“I think inherently it does come with more risk than DHing, just because you’re out in the field,” Boone said. “I don’t expect him to be diving or things like that. Playing brings risk. But we’re not going to put him out there where he’s in jeopardy. If he’s not ready to go, he’s not ready to go.”
Boone was asked whether doctors had assured him Judge would regain his full bat speed and power. He said he had not thought to ask.
“My expectation is that he’s going to be Aaron Judge,” Boone said.
Fried lines up for a Saturday return against Boston
The Yankees’ co-ace is close. Max Fried, who went back on the injured list Aug. 17 with the second left elbow bone bruise of his season, threw 60 pitches over four simulated innings on Monday. That outing put him in line to be activated Saturday, the first day he is eligible, for one game of a Yankees doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox.
Boone kept the door open without committing to it.
“Potentially,” Boone said. “But we’ll see where we are as these next couple days unfold.”
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said Fried would likely be limited to around 60 pitches in that first start back. His return matters more now that the Yankees have lost left-hander Ryan Weathers to a flexor strain, thinning an already stretched rotation. Fried missed two months earlier this year with his first bone bruise.
Schmidt eyes a bullpen role, and the calendar is the real test
The third piece is the most unusual. Clarke Schmidt, a career starter, is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment later this week with the goal of returning as a reliever. He is coming back from Tommy John surgery performed last July, and his fastball has been clocked around 94-95 mph in live sessions.
Here is the detail that separates Schmidt’s rehab from a normal one. It is not about building his pitch count. It is about proving he can pitch on back-to-back days, or close to it. Blake said the Yankees need to see Schmidt handle the quick turnaround that defines bullpen life before they can trust him in September.
“Having an extra body in September helps to provide some flexibility, but it’s hard to protect one-inning guys like that,” Blake said. “We want to feel comfortable with him managing the up-downs and pitch-off-pitch. But the stuff looked good today.”
Schmidt understands the assignment and the stakes of jumping into a race with no room for error.
“There’s a little bit of training wheels at first, but I’m coming in in big situations right here, in a pennant race, so I understand that,” Schmidt said. “I’m trying to get outs, trying to compete and be a guy they can rely on.”
He waved off any thought of returning as a starter this year, saying that role would only strain the bullpen he is trying to help.
Why the timing matters for the Yankees
The urgency is written in the numbers. Since Judge last played, the Yankees had posted the majors’ worst adjusted offense, an 87 wRC+, and scored the second-fewest runs in baseball entering Tuesday. Their seven-run night against Houston hinted at what a healthier lineup could look like, even in a loss.
The Yankees sit at 74-57, three games back of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East and clinging to a wild-card position as the Red Sox close in. Cody Bellinger has returned. Giancarlo Stanton, moved to the 60-day list Tuesday, will not.
For now, the Yankees wait on the three names that could reshape their October. Judge is swinging again. Fried is days from the mound. Schmidt is one rehab stint from a bullpen that just faltered. None is back yet, but all three moved closer on the same afternoon.
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It doesn’t matter if the Yankees get Christ and a few apostles, people need to realize the Yankees are not winning the world series. They are done