ARLINGTON — Nothing will be certain until Yankees manager Aaron Boone fills out Tuesday’s lineup card, but Aaron Judge is likely to be penciled in at designated hitter after a 10-day absence.
“I think that’s the plan,” Boone said before the Yankees opened their three-game series in Texas on Monday.
Without Judge, the Yankees have gone 4-5, losing the last three games to the Marlins and slashing just .227/.307/.388 over the nine-game stretch. Judge leads the Major Leagues in batting average (.342), on-base percentage (.449), slugging percentage (.711) and OPS (1.160). There’s no overstating how badly the Yankees need his bat back.
“It’s Aaron Judge — we know what he means to our lineup, to the guys in the room,” Boone said. “So to get him back, we’re certainly excited about that. And then hopefully, shortly thereafter, he’s back out in the field, too.”
The current plan is for Judge to play catch Monday or Tuesday before the Yankees can decide on a “potential timeline” for him to return to right field.
“Then we’ll see when we get back home,” on Friday against the Astros, Boone said. “The process they’re going through — as far as treatments, I know he did plyos today, and then he’ll start introducing playing catch, and then his arm will tell him” when he’s ready.
