Insider reveals new timeline for possible return of Yankees' Aaron Judge

MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post shared an updated potential timeline for the return of New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge this season. 

Heyman noted that "one Yankees person ... guessed Judge could be back a week or two after the All-Star break." However, Heyman added that forecast "may be filed under the heading of wishful thinking" considering Judge hasn't yet been cleared to resume baseball-related activities. 

The Yankees open the second half of the campaign at the Colorado Rockies on July 14. 

There was hope ahead of the weekend that Judge could return from what had been called a ligament sprain and contusion on his big right toe which he suffered on June 3 before the Yankees close out the first half of the season on July 9. 

The situation changed, though, when the reigning American League Most Valuable Player shared on Saturday he has a torn ligament in his toe. 

Judge insisted while speaking with Heyman he is "going to do everything I can to put myself in that position" to play again in 2023.

"What’s tough is people compare it to turf toe in the NFL, which is usually six weeks, six to eight weeks. But this is different than turf toe," Judge explained. "Turf toe is more underneath the ligament. This is on the side. So you never know." 

The Yankees had gone 4-8 during Judge's latest stint on the injured list but then won four of six contests. Despite that recent run of positive form, the Bronx Bombers began Monday trailing the first-place Tampa Bay Rays by nine-and-a-half games in the AL East standings. New York possessed a wild-card playoff spot before the start of Monday's action. 

As for Judge, ESPN stats show he entered the final midweek of June still tied for seventh in all of MLB with 19 home runs this season. In 49 games, he hit .291 with 40 RBI and a 1.078 OPS. 

The Judge-less Yankees (43-35) open a three-game series at the lowly Oakland Athletics (20-60) on Tuesday night.