One step closer
Judge progress continues; Didi on course for weekend
OAKLAND — Aaron Judge faced majorleague pitching Tuesday — sort of.
The Yankees slugger is still weeks away from his return to the lineup, but in another small step forward in his rehab, he repeated his work hitting off a tee and then tracked pitches in Masahiro Tanaka’s side session.
“Judge came in today feeling good. He did his baserunning, did all his defensive work in the outfield and was able to replicate what he was able to do yesterday off the tee,” Aaron Boone said before Tuesday’s game against the A’s at Oakland Coliseum. “I didn’t see him hit off the tee, but I heard he was able to pop it again today, which is an encouraging sign (that) he was able to do it on back-to-back days.”
Judge has been on the disabled list with a chip fracture in his right wrist since July 27. He took swings with a regulation bat for the first time on Monday, 25 dry swings and then 25 off the tee. Tracking pitches is a way for him to try and get his timing back before he is ready for batting practice.
“It’s one of the reasons we’re an everyday sport. Rhythm and timing of being a hitter and tracking and all those things. That’s something that can certainly be in and out a little bit,” Boone said. “When you have had some time down, one of the things you gotta work hard to get back is timing.”
DIDI DUE BACK
Didi Gregorius also tracked Tanaka’s pitches Tuesday and is close to coming off the disabled list. The shortstop, who has been out with a left heel bruise since Aug. 20, could possibly be activated for this weekend’s series in Seattle.
“He had a good day today, ran on the field, ground balls, aggressive ground balls I would call them, and batting practice,” Boone said. “He will come back and if he can bounce back tomorrow, more of the same, then hopefully we’ll be in a position to activate him.”
CHAPMAN ON THE FIELD
Aroldis Chapman long tossed Tuesday for the second straight day at the Yankees’ spring training complex in Tampa. The closer has been on the disabled list since Aug. 22 with left knee tendinitis.
“That was good to see. He looked good,” Boone said of a video showing Chapman long tossing. “He was on the treadmill today. Not running, but walking at a good pace without pain. So he’ll have a couple more days like that and then after that four-day chunk of throwing on flat ground, we’ll evaluate where he is and if everything is going well we can progress from there.
“All in all, Chappy is doing pretty good. An encouraging sign in the last couple days.”
ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Miguel Andújar was named the American League Rookie of the Month for August on Tuesday. He went 39-for-122 (.320) with seven doubles, 10 home runs, 29 RBI and a stolen base in 30 games to claim his second career AL Rookie of the Month Award. He also won the honor in June.