Judge cleared for light activity, targets season return
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- Aaron Judge was cleared for "light activity" — running and upper-body resistance exercises, but nothing baseball-related — after his fractured right rib was re-imaged Tuesday, and he will need another scan before being cleared to hit or throw.
- Judge said he remains confident he will return this season, telling reporters "Oh, I'll be back this season... I never had a thought of not playing this year," despite not having played since May 31.
- The Yankees' offense ranks 30th in wRC+, 27th in OPS, and 26th in runs scored since June 1 without Judge, who injured the rib diving for a ball April 26 — his 34th birthday — and played through pain for over a month before going on the 10-day IL June 5 and the 60-day IL July 18.
- GM Brian Cashman acquired first baseman Luis Garcia Jr. from the Washington Nationals and Heliot Ramos from the San Francisco Giants before Monday's trade deadline, with Giancarlo Stanton (calf) and Cody Bellinger (hamstring) also on the injured list.
- Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged Judge would need more than the length of spring training to ramp up once cleared for baseball activities, with the Yankees four games behind the Rays and roughly 52-53 days left in the regular season.
Why it matters: Judge alone needs more than a full spring training to ramp up, yet the Yankees have only about 52 regular-season games left and sit four games behind Tampa Bay — meaning even a 'soon' return likely includes meaningful offensive rust during a tight playoff race the front office already tried to reinforce at the deadline.
