NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge played five innings under simulated conditions on Tuesday afternoon at the Yankees¡¯ complex in Tampa, Fla., according to manager Aaron Boone, who said that the injured slugger took at-bats, ran the bases and played defense.
The workout marked another step forward for Judge, who has been on the injured list since June 4 with a torn ligament in his right big toe. Judge saw 16 pitches in live batting practice on Sunday at Yankee Stadium, facing rehabbing right-hander Jonathan Lo¨¢isiga.
¡°We¡¯re seeing how this goes, seeing how we can script things and making sure he gets a lot of at-bats,¡± Boone said.
Boone said that Judge would face Lo¨¢isiga again on Wednesday at the Tampa facility.
It is possible that Judge could return without playing in a Minor League game; the organization has not decided if he will be sent on a rehab assignment, and Boone did not rule out the chance that Judge could be activated for Friday¡¯s series opener against the Orioles in Baltimore.
¡°I think it¡¯s just day to day right now,¡± Boone said. ¡°It¡¯s, ¡®Get through today and tomorrow'; hopefully we can ramp up and it¡¯s a couple [innings] more. I don¡¯t think he had any action in the field today. We¡¯ll try and set up situations to make sure there¡¯s action in play, or script some things a little bit more so that not only is he getting the volume of being out there for an hour or two hours, getting the live at-bats, but trying to replicate things that would come up in the game as much as we can.¡±
Judge said earlier this week that ¡°it's not going to be pain-free¡± when he returns, adding, ¡°We'll just get as close to manageable as we can.¡±
Boone said that he is not sure if Judge has run the bases at 100 percent yet, but the manager believes that Judge¡¯s rehab has continued to move in an encouraging direction.
¡°The fact that we¡¯re at this point is a positive,¡± Boone said.
The reigning American League MVP, Judge slashed .291/.404/.674 with 19 homers and 40 RBIs in 49 games before sustaining his toe injury crashing through Dodger Stadium¡¯s right-field bullpen gate on June 3.