All rise! Aaron Judge will be back in the Yankees’ lineup on Tuesday for the second game of their series with the Oakland Athletics.
Manager Aaron Boone confirmed the news on Monday that the superstar slugger would be back after a short stint on the injured list due to a hip strain. Tuesday is the first day that Judge is eligible to come off the IL.
“MVP back,” Boone said Monday, according to ESPN. “It’s gonna be fun to write his name back into the lineup.”
All signs had been pointing to a quick return for the Yankees captain, who had already began hitting days after New York opted to put him on the IL. Judge had not been feeling any pain after working out in Tampa at the team’s minor league facility.
“Ready to go,” Judge told the New York Post on Monday. “It’s been about five or six days (since the pain went away) so I’m feeling good. I’m glad it’s over with and excited to get back to this team.”
The Yankees are in desperate need of a shot in the arm after the latest losses in Tampa over the weekend. The Bombers were 10 games back of first-place Tampa heading into Monday’s game with the Athletics.
Judge had been hitting .261/.352/.511 before the injury and had six home runs to boot.
“There’s just that presence he has in being our leader,” Boone said. “The guys look to him; I think there is an intangible element to him being back in there as well.”
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