New potential timeline for Aaron Judge return to Yankees revealed

As noted by Greg Joyce of the New York Post, New York Yankees slugger and team captain Aaron Judge ran in right field Tuesday afternoon, is now throwing from over 100 feet and has advanced to taking batting practice in the indoor cage amid his ongoing recovery from the stress fracture of the first rib on his right side that has kept him out of action since May 31. 

For pieces published on Tuesday, Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media and Chris Towers of CBS Sports touched upon what the latest Judge-related developments mean for the 34-year-old's eventual return to the big-league lineup. 

Aaron Judge to make return on emotional day for New York?

According to Klapisch, Judge will "need another two weeks before he’s re-activated." Such a timeline could put Judge on track to return for the Yankees' home game against the New York Mets on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

The Yankees improved to 36-23 on the same day that Judge last appeared in an MLB game. Following Tuesday's 9-7 loss to the Houston Astros, the Bronx Bombers fell to 74-57. 

The Yankees began Wednesday trailing the first-place Tampa Bay Rays (78-54) in the American League East standings. However, the 73-59 Boston Red Sox are flirting with leapfrogging the Yankees in the battle for the No. 1 wild-card spot in the AL. 

Why Aaron Judge could return "quicker" than some thought

"I do think his return could come quicker than you might think," Towers wrote about Judge. "Given Judge's experience and stature – not to mention the limited remaining minor-league schedule – there's a pretty good chance the Yankees opt to let him skip a minor-league rehab assignment. ... I suspect we'll see something like that this time around, where Judge returns as soon as he is cleared to hit, but likely spends a decent amount of time in the DH spot until he is fully ready. What does the timetable look like there? I can't say, but I would guess he's back within the next two weeks, given that he's doing batting practice by now." 

The Yankees will wrap the regular season up with a home game against the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 27. A return timeline of two weeks would give Judge roughly two weeks of in-game action to get his body as right as possible for October.