Aaron Judge is finally on the verge of returning to action for the New York Yankees.
The Yankees plan to activate Judge on Friday barring any setbacks, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Judge had actually wanted to return for the current series against the New York Mets, but the Yankees decided to play it safe and hold him out a bit longer.
Assuming Judge returns as scheduled, he will have missed almost two months of action after injuring his foot on a concrete barrier at Dodger Stadium. The Yankees have floundered since the injury, particularly on offense, and have fallen to 53-48. They remain just 2.5 games out of the final AL Wild Card spot, so if Judge provides them with a lift, they could easily get back on track.
One interesting question is how well Judge will perform. He has suggested that he will be dealing with the foot injury to some degree all season, so there is a chance he will be limited in certain ways.
Judge was hitting .291 with 19 home runs in 49 games before suffering the injury on June 3.