Aaron Judge provided an update on his toe injury Tuesday, but it was not exactly what Yankees fans would like to hear.
The good: He is doing some light hitting. The bad? He still has not been cleared to run and he admitted it still does not feel great – mentioning the possibility of offseason surgery.
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“I don’t think it will ever feel normal,” Judge told reporters before Tuesday’s game against the Orioles. “I can move around pretty well, but any injury [it can bother you] a year or two or three years. You never know what it’s going to feel like.”
Those are not exactly encouraging words for a player the Yankees desperately need back in their lineup.
Judge estimated he is running at about 10 percent, which he said “doesn’t help anybody” and that he would need to be fully cleared to run before he can return.
And that’s not the only hurdle Judge need to clear.
“Besides running is me being able to put 270 pounds on one leg when I’m hitting,” he said. “Once we build up that strength and get the pain out of there, we’re going to be in a good spot. I kind of understand you’re going to deal with some pain coming back, so it’s just about getting to a point where it’s tolerable and we’re not setting ourselves back here.”
The Yankees are 13-13 since Judge hurt his toe slamming into the wall at Dodger Stadium on June 2, but remain in the thick of the wild-card race.
Judge sounded determined that he would return this season and would not need surgery — yet.
“There’s talks of surgery, but I don’t think we’re at that point,” he said. “We’re not doing that this year.”
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