The Yankees have finally released an update on Aaron Judge, but it did not make his return timetable much clearer than it already was.
The Yanks announced that Judge’s latest imaging showed some healing in his first right rib, but not fully healed, so he will continue to wait before resuming baseball activities.
“We're still waiting on one more doctor to take a look at it, kind of see how we progress forward the next couple weeks,” Judge said, via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “But definitely a positive sign that we're seeing some healing.”
Judge insisted when speaking to reporters that he is “definitely” confident he will play again this season, but given this latest update, it seems as if the reigning MVP’s initial timetable for a return was way too optimistic.
The Yankees fell into a massive funk shortly after Judge landed on the IL, and while they have seemingly stabilized themselves with four straight wins heading into Friday’s marquee series opener against the Dodgers, missing Judge is a massive void to fill as New York fights to regain control of the AL East.
With the Yankees still in a waiting mode for a specific doctor to recommend the next course of action before resuming baseball activities, it is becoming more and more difficult to imagine Judge returning by the end of August, as he will have to go through those baseball activities before beginning a rehab assignment.
Judge last played on May 31. He had 17 home runs and a .907 OPS before being placed on the IL.
The Yankee captain did assert his confidence that he will return this season.
The Yankee captain did assert his confidence that he will return this season.
