Aaron Judge on Friday shared an interesting update to the media regarding his recovery from a toe injury.
Judge has been out since tearing a ligament in his right big toe while making a catch at the wall against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 3. He is working his way towards a return to the New York Yankees’ lineup but cautioned his fans.
Judge said Friday that he will not be pain-free when he returns. Instead, he will just try to manage the situation.
“It’s not going to be pain-free, but we’ll just get as close to manageable as we can,” Judge said, via Yankees reporter Bryan Hoch.
Aaron Judge on his return: "It's not going to be pain-free, but we'll just get as close to manageable as we can."
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) July 21, 2023
That’s not exactly what Yankees fans want to hear.
Sure, getting Judge back is a good thing, but having him healthy vs. playing through pain are two different things.
Judge was able to run the bases on Wednesday, which was a big step towards a return. He is set to face live pitching on Sunday. How Judge does after facing live pitching could help establish a timetable for a potential return.
The reigning AL MVP was batting .291 with 19 home runs and a 1.078 OPS over 49 games this season.
