Yankees Activate Aaron Judge from 60-Day IL — SkimNews
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- Aaron Judge was reinstated from the 60-day injured list by the Yankees on Monday after missing 84 games since May 31 due to a broken right rib, and will return directly to the active roster without a minor league rehab stint
- The Yankees went 45-39 during Judge's absence after being 36-23 when he last played; their team batting average dropped from .243 to .227 and their OPS fell from .770 to .681 while he was sidelined
- New York entered Monday at 81-62, trailing first-place Tampa Bay by four games in the AL East but holding a two-game lead over Boston for the top American League wild card, with 19 regular-season games remaining
- Judge is hitting .248 with 17 homers and 38 RBIs this season and won last year's batting title with a career-high .331 average, 53 homers, and 114 RBIs
- Chase Hampton was designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for Judge, while right-hander Elmer Rodríguez was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Sunday's loss in San Diego
Why it matters: Judge returns with the Yankees still in playoff position — two games up on Boston for the top AL wild card with 19 games left — but their offense cratered without him, dropping from a .770 OPS to .681 and ranking 29th in batting average during his absence. Reinserting the reigning batting title winner into a lineup that produced just .227 over 84 games is a direct, immediate boost to a team trying to hold off the Red Sox.
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