ST Petersburg, Fla. – Manager Aaron Boone hopes slugger Aaron Judge will return to health from a sprained right ankle during Tuesday night’s New York Yankees game against the Oakland A’s.
Judge worked Saturday at the team’s minor league complex in Tampa, Florida, about 30 minutes from the park where the Yankees played the Rays.
“I think he’s going to be good,” Boone said before the game. “I think we’re going to be in a good position on Tuesday because he’s been doing everything for several days. That’s the calculation for the weekend. We were hesitant to speed everything up, thinking that if he’s 85 or 90% he’ll be back. I don’t want it to be a bad situation where we lose him for six or eight weeks. Because I’m not comfortable doing that.”
Judge hasn’t played since April 27 and missed his eighth game on Saturday. The injury-riddled Yankees entered Saturday’s game at 17-16 and trailing the major league-leading Rays by 10 games in the AL East.
Third baseman Josh Donaldson, who has been straining his right hamstring since April 6, worked out with Judge and will intensify his on-field routines next week before appearing in the minors.
Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who has been out since April 16 with left hamstring tightness, isn’t nearly as good as Donaldson, but Boone said he’s making progress.
“It’s going well,” Boone said. “I felt motivated because his progress was good.”
Right-hander Luis Severino will make at least three starts in the minors Wednesday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Left-hander Carlos Rodon will get an injection Tuesday to relieve back pain.
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