Yankees' Aaron Judge, Kyle Higashioka return from COVID-19 IL

New York Yankees star slugger Aaron Judge, third baseman Gio Urshela and catcher Kyle Higashioka all landed on the COVID-19 injured list earlier this month during an outbreak that resulted in the postponement of a game. 

Urshela was reinstated over the weekend, and Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com noted that the Yankees reinstated both Judge and Higashioka ahead of Tuesday's matchup at the Tampa Bay Rays. 

In total, Judge and Higashioka both missed nine games and, as a result, weren't available when the Yankees dropped three of four to the Boston Red Sox before being off on Monday. While Higashioka is the Yankees' backup catcher, Judge earned an American League All-Star nod and is batting .282 with 21 home runs and 47 RBI this season. 

The third-place Yankees trailed the first-place Red Sox by nine-and-a-half games and were eight back of the Rays in the AL East standings at the start of Tuesday's action. 

As Bryan Hoch wrote for the MLB website, Yankees pitchers Jonathan Loaisiga and Nestor Cortes Jr. also tested positive amid the COVID-19 outbreak but have since returned. Lefty Wandy Peralta might need a rehab assignment in the minor leagues before he's prepared to face big-league hitters.