Aaron Judge is back in right field for Yankees for first time since late July

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NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees captain Aaron Judge returned to right field Friday for the first time since July 25, three days after he strained his flexor tendon while making a throw at Toronto.

Judge was batting third in Friday night’s series opener against the AL East-leading Blue Jays.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone wouldn't say whether Judge could throw at full strength, but left the impression the two-time AL MVP could not.

“A little bit like a pitcher, starting to through plyometrics and things like that building up to get to the point to where he could start to throw a little bit,” Boone said. “And then just gradually building from there, starting to throw bases, getting our infielders involved, just so we could be a little creative with some things.”

Judge entered hitting .322 with 43 homers, 97 RBIs and a big league-best 1.105 OPS. Since missing 10 games while on the injured list, Judge had been exclusively a designated hitter. He was batting .242 with six homers and 12 RBIs in 27 games since Aug. 5.

“Excited to get him back out there,” Boone said, “obviously what he brings to the table for us as an athlete out there and hopefully just goes well and he continues to build up.”

Asked whether he would hold his breath when Judge throws, Boone responded: “I’m sure when you first see it, sure."

Boone said Judge initially won't be in right field every day, likely alternating with Giancarlo Stanton.

Judge first felt the pain in the sixth inning of the July 22 game at Toronto, when George Springer singled to right and Judge made a strong throw home in an attempt to prevent the tying run.

Judge was a DH the next day and following an off day returned to right on July 25 for a series opener against Philadelphia. He had trouble throwing, went for an MRI on July 26 and was put on the IL.

In order to get both Judge and Giancarlo in the lineup together, Stanton has played 17 games in corner outfield spots since Aug. 9, his first outfield appearances since September 2023. Stanton was hitting .283 with 18 homers and 47 RBIs since starting his season on June 16. Stanton missed the first 70 games because of inflammation in the tendons of both elbows.

“Big G putting himself in the mix now is obviously a big deal, so probably some kind of a shared situation, but, again, we’ll see how Aaron responds day in and day out coming out of these games,” Boone said.

A day after leaving a game at Houston in the fourth inning because of bruises to both knees, All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr. was in the starting lineup at second base.

Chisholm hurt his right knee on Ramón Urías' second-inning grounder and his left during a collision with Jose Altuve that ended the third as the Astros star tried to steal second.

Shortstop Anthony Volpe was out of the starting lineup for just the seventh time this season, replaced by José Caballero.

Caballero entered 2 for 7 against Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman and Volpe was 3 for 24.

Volpe was 1 for 11 during a three-game series at Houston after going 7 for 14 with five RBIs in a four-game series at the Chicago White Sox.

He is hitting .208 with 19 homers, 70 RBIs and a .668 OPS. His average was 149th among 150 qualified players, above only Pittsburgh's Oneill Cruz at .202.

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