Aaron Judge has not been seen in a baseball game since May 31. Yet on Saturday, Aug. 15, the New York Yankees got at least a glimpse of Judge both upright and participating in baseball activities.
Judge played catch and ran before the Yankees' game against the Blue Jays at Toronto's Rogers Centre as he begins his gradual climb back from a fractured right rib . He was cleared for baseball activities Aug. 5, but the Yankees have been deliberate in assessing test results and monitoring his injury.
"We expect him back, but we're in the early stages of baseball activity," Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters in Toronto. "Hopefully things continue to go well."
The Yankees were 36-23 and 1 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay in the American League East when Judge played his final game before going on the injured list. They've gone 32-31 since, losing All-Star Game MVP Cody Bellinger along the way, and now trail Tampa Bay by 6 1/2 games entering play Saturday. New York retains a three-game lead over Boston for the No. 1 wild card spot.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yankees get promising update on Aaron Judge injury return