Yankees hitting coach shares promising Aaron Judge update

New York Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson shared a promising update regarding the recovery of slugger Aaron Judge.

"His swing looks great," Lawson said about Judge hitting off a tee for the first time since he suffered a torn ligament in his big right toe on June 3, per Dan Martin of the New York Post. "It looks like he’s not missing anything. He’s able to turn on his back [right] foot and it doesn’t look like it’s bothering him at all." 

Judge appeared on NBC's "Today" show on Monday and couldn't provide a timeline for when he may return. Martin noted that "the best case scenario" is that the reigning American League Most Valuable Player will be back in the lineup at some point during the second half of the season that begins for the Yankees on July 14, as the 31-year-old cannot yet run full speed. 

The Yankees ended June 3 with a record of 35-25 but began Tuesday at 47-38. At that time, they trailed the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East standings by nine games, but New York did possess a wild-card playoff berth. 

"It’s definitely a positive sign," Lawson added about Judge's latest step. "His swing has looked exactly like it’s looked like every time he swung last year and earlier this year. I know there are progressions that have to be made, but this part of the progression looks as good as we could ever hope for." 

In 49 games this season, Judge hit .291 with 19 home runs and 40 RBIs. Per ESPN stats, his 1.078 OPS would be good for first in all of MLB if he had enough at-bats to rank among qualified players. 

Without Judge, the third-place Yankees earned a 6-3 win over the second-place Baltimore Orioles (49-34) on Monday evening. Those two sides meet again in the Bronx on Tuesday afternoon. 

"We’re fighting to get that consistent offense, night in and night out," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "We’ve got to get some guys going in the right direction. We’ve got a little steam there."