Yankees' Aaron Boone dials back Aaron Judge optimism
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone expressed optimism Tuesday that slugger Aaron Judge could potentially return to the lineup as soon as next week.
Boone sang somewhat of a different tune later in the day.
"I don’t know when he gets to that point to where now we’re ready to play," Boone said about Judge shortly before Tuesday's 5-1 loss at the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night, per Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "I do feel like the things that he’s able to do now is kind of putting him close. But whether that’s days from now or weeks from now, I can’t answer because we have to get through those final hurdles where he really does things that allow him to play in the major leagues."
During a Tuesday appearance on the "Talkin' Yanks" podcast, Boone indicated Judge could potentially play against the New York Mets next Tuesday or Wednesday. However, the skipper acknowledged later in the day that the reigning American League Most Valuable Player still needs to test his injured big right toe running the bases and taking swings that go beyond just batting-practice cuts.
"When you’re taking BP and getting your swing off, it’s another thing to be in a game and take a difficult pitch and holding a checked swing and all those different things you need to be in a real comfortable spot to do," Boone explained.
Alden Gonzalez of ESPN mentioned the Yankees have gone 15-21 during Judge's latest stint on the injured list. History suggests New York won't consistently return to winning ways anytime soon without its captain.
The last-place Yankees began Wednesday trailing the first-place Tampa Bay Rays by nine games in the AL East standings and were two-and-a-half games back in the race for a wild card spot. New York lost four of its first five contests coming off the All-Star break.
During his most recent comments, Boone reminded everybody it's likely the Yankees won't be getting the same version of Judge back who hit .291 with 19 home runs and 40 RBI across 49 games before the toe-related setback.
"I’ll know that he feels like he can be the player that he wants to be for us," Boone added about Judge. "Whether that’s 90 percent, 95 or 100 or whatever, I don’t know. We’re not at that point yet, so we’ll see."
Considering it remains unclear how many rehab and/or simulated games Judge will need before he's ready to face MLB opposition, it's looking less likely with each day he'll play for the big-league Yankees again before August.
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