Aaron Judge hopeful of return to lineup quickly as Yankees struggle: "I'll be back out there soon"
The New York Yankees miss Aaron Judge dearly. On a road trip against two of the worst teams in baseball, the team went 3-3 vs. the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. The offense continues to struggle without its leader and his 19 home runs. There's still no clear timetable for a return, but Judge is optimistic.
He's slowly progressed into doing baseball activities, such as light swim training and playing catch in the outfield. He spoke to the TODAY show and offered up a bit of insight into what he's doing and when he might be back.
Aaron Judge talks to TODAY about contributing from the dugout as the @Yankees captain and tells @craigmelvin he is coming back “hopefully soon.” #RepBX https://t.co/nrA48F001p
He said:
"Just trying to stay locked in and help a teammate, pick a teammate up. If I see someone struggling in the game, try to give them a little bit of working encouragement. Trying to find little moments to just make an impact on the game even when you're not playing."
He was then asked about a return:
"Hopefully soon. We'll see. You know we got the All-Star break coming up here so hopefully, that'll buy me a couple days and I'll be back out there soon."
Judge has been sidelined with a torn ligament in his toe since June 4, one day after crashing into the fence to save a couple of runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Aaron Judge is missed by the Yankees
Without Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees have been lackluster on offense at best. Save for a few offensive outbursts against less than stellar pitching, the Yankees offense is usually not good for anything more than three runs per game.
Everyone in the lineup, from DJ LeMahieu to Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton to Josh Donaldson, has struggled without Judge in the lineup. Many of them are just slumping, but it's compounded by Judge's absence.
Hopefully, the optimistic timeline the slugger laid out proves true and the Yankees can stay afloat until then. They are currently tied for the second wild card.