Judge & A’s take their cuts
Aaron swings before Oakland tags Bombers
OAKLAND — Aaron Judge is hopeful he will be back in the Yankees lineup within a couple weeks.
He took a big step toward that goal Monday.
After weeks of waiting for the pain to leave his broken right wrist, Judge was finally able to swing a bat before the Labor Day matinee at the Oakland Coliseum.
“It was a good sign. I really didn't feel too much of anything,” Judge said after the workout. “It's still broken, so there is still some soreness that comes with that, but it's feeling great, a good sign and I am glad I was able to start swinging and ramp it up here.
“Hopefully (I'll) get back on the field in a week or two.”
Neither Judge nor Aaron Boone was willing to put a more specific timeline on his return, but it obviously isn't in time for this crucial series against the A's. The Bombers certainly could use his bat as they try to hold on to the top American League wild card spot against the hottest team in baseball.
But they are hopeful that the rehab will speed up from here and that he will potentially be able to take batting practice by the weekend.
“Well, obviously we'll get through this week, (he'll do) more tee work and then graduate to soft toss and then getting in the cage, then taking batting practice and stuff like that, hopefully at some point this weekend,” Boone said. “We'll see where we are at. It's how he responds to everything. So far, the last couple of days, he's been responding well as they ramp things up as that pain gets out of there, as he gets (the wrist) fully rotated, I think he's excited about where he's at.
“Once we get through this weekend, if he continues to graduate, then you really think about a possible timeline of maybe getting back.”
With the minor league season ending this week, the Yankees will have to get “creative” to get Judge live at-bats so he can recover his timing. Instructional league in Florida does not begin until Sept. 16.
The Yankees are not at that point yet and it's been a long journey even to this point, so they were not willing to look too far ahead.
When Judge took a pitch to the wrist on July 26, the Yankees had an overly optimistic diagnosis that projected him swinging a bat in a game situation in three weeks. Now, just over five weeks later, Judge is taking the very first steps to getting back in the lineup.
He has been dealing with pain in the wrist, not allowing him the full range of motion he needs to swing a bat, despite a cortisone shot two weeks ago.
Judge said in the last few days, however, he had quietly been ramping up work underwater and with fungo bats — which are longer and lighter — to get to Monday's first work with a normal bat.
There was no doctor's clearance or final hurdle that led him to Monday's progress.
“Just feeling better,” Judge said. "It's all I have been telling you guys. Once it started feeling better, I could start kind of moving toward hitting and throwing and stuff like that. The last couple days I have been throwing outside and getting better. So once I was throwing and kind of felt good and no pain, so we could move on to hitting. So we're moving in the right direction.”
Judge said he took “about 25” dry swings and “about 25” swings off the tee Monday. The 26-year-old slugger said he swung 100%.
“I was feeling good, I was ….trying to just do my normal routine, I kinda wanted to feel it. I didn't want to take anything at 50%,” Judge said. “It felt great, some quality hacks, so that's what I did.
“We'll see how it feels in the morning.”
That is a crucial test for Judge and the Yankees, seeing how he feels after the Monday workout. Still, this was the first good news in what has been a frustrating month of waiting for their slugger.
“We definitely feel like he's starting to build some momentum,” Boone said. “To get to swing and hit off a tee and have it go really well is obviously a great sign. I know he's pleased with it and he is just starting to build momentum towards getting back.
“Today was a very good day in the progress.”