Aaron Judge update: Yankees’ slugger already hitting after being placed on IL

BRONX — The Yankees have been keeping a positive outlook on the injured list stint for Aaron Judge, and it seems that he is at least progressing in the right direction. 

Judge hit on Monday and Tuesday inside the batting cage and manager Aaron Boone described it as having gone “very well.” The Yankees are hoping to build Judge back so that his return lines up with his eligibility to come off the IL next week. 

Booen didn’t believe it was unusual to see a player taking swings so quickly after being placed on the IL. 

“I think it’s that progression over the next several days. That’s why we were holding out as long because it was a close decision,” Boone said about placing Judge on the IL. “It’s like, is he going to be all the way back Friday or Saturday? Not sure. So that’s where the decision lies. But he’s, you know, we’ll be ramping them up through the weekend to kind of get them prepared for early next week.”

The Yankees slugger appeared to hurt his hip when he slid awkwardly into third base last week in Minnesota. The injury, regardless of the severity, came at a time when New York seemed like they could afford it least. 

Amid a scoring slump, the Yankees lost one of their most explosive bats for a short period of time. They did manage to pull out a win on Tuesday night off home runs from Anthony Volpe and Willie Calhoun. 

Judge himself expressed displeasure with being placed on the IL by the Yanks, telling the New York Post and Newsday that he was “still not happy” about the 10-day stint. The outfielder lobbied hard not to be put on the IL but was outweighed. 

“It feels really good,” he said. “The toughest thing is throwing right now. Hitting feels great. Throwing, you feel it a little bit. But other than that we’re on track to be back in a couple days.”