Yankees' Aaron Boone sheds light on possible Aaron Judge return date

Once it was learned that injured New York Yankees slugger and captain Aaron Judge would accompany the team on their upcoming West Coast swing, fans started speculating when Judge could return to the big-league lineup.

While speaking with reporters ahead of what became a 10-1 loss to the lowly Los Angeles Angels (53-85) on Monday, Yankees manager
Aaron Boone was asked if Judge could be in the lineup for the start of a series against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 8.

This Aaron Judge return date is now "in play"

"I think it's possible," Boone said, per ESPN. "I'm not going to put a date on it. But I think those things are in play now. Again, it's about getting the durability and the workload built up on him, which is the biggest thing now."

Judge hasn't played since May 31 due to a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side. The 78-60 Yankees ended Monday's MLB action holding the American League's first wild-card playoff spot, but they trailed the first-place Tampa Bay Rays (82-55) by 4.5 games in the AL East standings. 

Meanwhile, ESPN stats show that the Yankees began Tuesday ranked 28th in the league with a .232 team batting average, 14th with a .719 team OPS and 14th with 623 total runs scored on the season. That said, John Flanigan of SNY noted that the Yankees scored 26 runs while earning three wins in four games over the rival Boston Red Sox this past weekend. 

Yankees "feel good" where Aaron Judge is in recovery

"He's here to kind of continue to ramp up baseball activities," Boone added about Judge on Monday. "We're getting closer, but we feel good about where he's at."

Over his first 59 games of the ongoing campaign, Judge slashed .248/.375/.533 with a .907 OPS, 17 home runs and 38 RBI. While one can only guess how many in-game swings Judge may need to begin looking like his old self, Boone and Co. are clearly hoping that the three-time AL Most Valuable Player can reclaim his best form by the time the playoffs get underway.