Judge: Offseason surgery possible on injured toe

NEW YORK -- Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge has not ruled out surgery on his sprained right big toe -- although if it happens, it won't be during the season, the All-Star slugger said Tuesday.

“There’s talk of surgery, but I don’t think we’re at that [point],” said Judge. “I’m not a doctor. I have no idea. They throw around eight different things.”

Judge suffered a torn ligament in the toe while running into the right-field wall making a terrific catch at Dodger Stadium on June 3. He has made some progress while on the IL, playing catch and doing some light hitting off a tee and flips. But Judge hasn’t done any significant running, and he wants to make sure he can put all 270 pounds on one leg while he is hitting.

“I’m feeling good, not great yet. We’re getting there,” Judge said. “I've got to be able to run. If I can run, then I can play. Me running at 10 percent [isn’t] going to help anybody out there.

“Once we build up that strength and get the pain and all that all out of there, we’re going to be in a good spot. I 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.”

Judge added that he is not sure if he will go to Seattle for All-Star Game festivities next week. He indicated that it might be best to stay back and continue rehabbing the toe.

“Maybe we’ll focus on doing some rehab stuff if we’re not close,” Judge said. “Probably best to stay back and get some work in, so I don’t know. [I] just have a couple of more people to talk to about that, talk to the trainers and doctors and see where we’re at.”

Judge resumed baseball activities on June 28 in Oakland, playing catch for the first time since injuring his toe. The Yankees were 12-13 since Judge injured the toe entering Tuesday’s game against the Orioles and were 47-38 overall, nine games behind the first-place Rays in the American League East. New York was tied with Houston for the final two spots in the AL Wild Card race, three games behind Baltimore.

“We want to win every game, but this team is playing well,” Judge said. “We are facing a couple of tough teams, some good battles back and forth, especially [Monday] night [against the Orioles].

“They have a good team. They have a good bullpen. They have one of the better starters on the mound. We answered right back [last night]. I think the guys are in a good position. I think we are going to be where we need to be once we get everybody healthy.”