Aaron Judge is back, and the Yankees’ entire stretch run suddenly feels louder. After more than three months sidelined by a right rib stress fracture, Judge has been activated from the 60-day injured list and is due to return Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies. For a lineup that has searched for its old force without him, his comeback is the moment supporters have been waiting for since his last game on May 31.
But anticipation comes with a hard edge of caution. Judge returns without a minor league rehab assignment, after lingering soreness repeatedly delayed his path back to full baseball activity. What was first projected as a four to six-week absence swallowed more than half the season.
Judge returns after playing through pain
He first hurt himself on April 26, attempting a diving catch in right field. Instead of shutting things down, Judge played through the discomfort for over a month. The decision showed in his numbers: a .528 OPS across 57 plate appearances before landing on the injured list. Over his final 11 games before the shutdown, Judge hit just .171/.271/.293, a jarring line for a player so central to the Yankees’ offensive identity.
Even so, Judge managed a .248/.375/.533 slash line with 17 home runs in 59 games before his injury. Despite missing everything since May 31, he still ranks among the top 30 outfielders in baseball with 2.2 WAR. The Yankees have been without their biggest bat for months, but his early-season production still echoes across the league.
Since Judge last played, New York’s offense has averaged just 4.06 runs per game, fifth-lowest in baseball over that stretch. The Yankees have survived at 45-39, thanks largely to elite pitching. Manager Aaron Boone didn’t sugarcoat what’s been missing. “We’ve had long stretches where the offense has struggled,” Boone said. “I think a big part of that is not having your guy.”
Judge wanted to be back much sooner. “I wanted to be back June 1, but that didn’t happen,” he said. “We’ll be back out there and continue to play smart, especially in the rest of this year and then going into the postseason.”
No rehab assignment raises the stakes
Judge pushed to skip a minor league assignment, arguing there was little value in those at-bats. He spent the past week hitting against a high-velocity machine, then took batting practice with the team and faced live pitching at Yankee Stadium. Power and bat speed aren’t his chief concern, Judge said, but the decision puts him immediately back into major league action after a long layoff.
“I don’t see a point. Why waste at-bats?” Judge said of a rehab stint. “I’m not too worried about the power or bat speed.” That confidence will resonate with a fan base desperate to see No. 99 back where he belongs. Every swing, every sprint, every trip into right field will be scrutinized over the final 19 regular-season games.
Boone has already signaled that Judge won’t necessarily play every inning or every day at first. “Maybe it’s playing a game, having an off day,” Boone said. “Maybe it is playing 5, 6, 7 innings in a game and get him out. Those things are on the table.”
The Yankees can rotate Judge between right field and designated hitter depending on the matchup, with Ben Rice and Luis Garcia Jr. also factoring into the lineup. But the immediate reality is simple: Judge will return to the Yankees’ lineup Tuesday when New York hosts Colorado.
