Aaron Judge is in Tampa playing simulated games. The Yankees don't rule out a return this weekend

Updated Jul. 25, 2023 6:38 p.m. ET

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge is playing simulated games at the New York Yankees' training complex in Tampa, Florida, as he gets closer to returning from a toe injury.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Judge's status is “day by day” and he didn't know if the slugger would require a minor league rehab assignment before coming off the injured list.

When asked Tuesday if Judge could possibly play for New York at first-place Baltimore this weekend, Boone said: “I wouldn’t rule anything out."

“Keeps moving in a good direction and the fact that we’re at this point is a positive,” he added.

Judge has been sidelined since tearing a ligament in his right big toe June 3 when he crashed into the right-field fence while making a catch at Dodger Stadium.

His progression has accelerated since the All-Star break, and the 2022 AL MVP faced live pitching Sunday at Yankee Stadium for the first time since the injury. He saw 16 pitches in a simulated game against teammate Jonathan Loáisiga, who is rehabbing from right elbow surgery. Judge fouled off four and did not put any balls in play.

Boone said Judge took at-bats Tuesday in Florida, played the field for “five innings or so” and “ran the bases a little bit.”

“Hopefully more of the same and maybe a little more volume tomorrow,” Boone said at Yankee Stadium before his team's Subway Series opener against the New York Mets.

“Right now it’s just, down there we’re seeing how this goes and seeing if we can kind of script things and make sure he’s getting a lot of at-bats.”

Judge has acknowledged he won't be pain-free when he returns, but the Yankees think he'll be able to play right field rather than just serve as a designated hitter.

“He just started taking live at-bats. So yeah, we’ll do whatever we have to do," Boone said. "But he’s got to build up from kind of a workload standpoint of, you don’t just go from taking batting practice or lifting weights or working out to going out and playing nine innings, whether it’s DH or right field. But hoping and feeling that right field will be in play. So this is all just part of kind of building him up a little better.”

Boone said Loáisiga was heading to Tampa on Tuesday night and would participate in the simulated game situations Wednesday with Judge.

In another injury update, Nestor Cortes (strained left rotator cuff) is scheduled to make his second minor league rehab start Friday, though Boone wasn't sure where yet. Cortes allowed one run and four hits Sunday while throwing 42 pitches over 2 1/3 innings for Double-A Somerset.

Second baseman Gleyber Torres was in the starting lineup against the Mets after leaving Sunday's victory over Kansas City in the seventh inning because of left hip tightness. Torres hit a two-run homer Sunday and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games.

New York began the day 53-47 and tied with rival Boston for last place in the AL East. Both teams were 2 1/2 games out of a playoff spot.

The Yankees entered Tuesday 18-22 since Judge got hurt in Los Angeles. Last month, he received two injections before progressing to playing catch and taking light swings.

Judge set an American League record with 62 home runs last year. He is batting .291 with 19 homers and 40 RBIs in the first season of a $360 million, nine-year contract he signed last offseason.

New York is 30-19 with Judge, who also missed 10 games earlier this season with a right hip strain sustained when he tried to steal third base in Minnesota on his 31st birthday April 26.

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