After missing 84 games, Aaron Judge finally has been cleared to return to the New York Yankees’ lineup.
The Yankees activated Judge from the 60-day injured list on Monday, one day before they host the Colorado Rockies to start a six-game homestand. The three-time Most Valuable Player hasn’t played since May 31 due to a stress fracture in one of his right ribs.
Judge was adamant about not wanting to take at-bats in a minor league rehab setting when he spoke on Aug. 27, and he was scheduled to spend Monday’s off-day facing live pitching at Yankee Stadium. He was cleared in August to resume baseball activities and progressed from throwing and running during New York’s 10-game homestand to taking batting practice on the field twice during a weekend visit to San Diego.
“I wanted to be back June 1, but that didn’t happen,” Judge said. “I’ll leave it up to the manager when he wants to put me in there.”
“He’s close to the end game of being ready to play,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the team made the roster move.
Presuming Judge plays Tuesday against the Rockies, it will mark his first home game since May 24, when he hit a walk-off two-run homer against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees (81-62) are 45-39 without him in a stretch that has included injured-list stints for Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Ryan McMahon.
Ben Rice has also struggled at times. The 27-year-old is hitting .230 in 83 games since Judge’s absence, but went 9-for-25 on New York’s most recent road trip. He is batting .354 (17-for-48) in his past 12 games.
“It’s been a while,” Rice said. “We’re all as eager to have him back now as we were right when he went out. It’ll mean a lot to us.”
Colorado (55-88) needs to win eight of its final 19 games to avoid its fourth consecutive 100-loss season. The Rockies are 5-14 in their past 19 games, though their past six losses were each decided by two runs or fewer.
The Rockies fell 10-8 at home to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday and have allowed double-digit runs 17 times this season.
Mickey Moniak, who had four RBIs in the loss, is hitting .167 (14-for-84) over his past 23 games. Jake McCarthy is 9-for-26 (.346) in his past six games following Sunday’s three-hit showing.
“You can see all the progress. You’re in those games, and there’s an enormous chasm between last year and this year in terms of the offense,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “I think you always want more, and you always want to win. That’s what we’re here to do, and that’s what these guys are here to do every day and they expect to win.”
Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler (12-6, 2.04 ERA) is scheduled to start the series opener.
The Yankees are 18-11 in Schlittler’s starts after scoring five runs in the 10th inning Wednesday. Schlittler allowed one run on two hits in eight innings of a 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Schlittler has allowed one run or fewer in 19 starts, and the Yankees are 15-4 in those outings.
Gabriel Hughes (0-6, 6.19) will start for Colorado and is seeking his first career win. The Rockies are 3-8 in his outings this season. Hughes allowed one run on four hits in 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision during Tuesday’s 4-2 win over Baltimore.
–Field Level Media
