Yankees' Aaron Judge back in rightfield

Aaron Judge’s long-awaited return to the field has arrived.

The two-time American League MVP, limited to designated hitter duties for the past month because of a flexor strain in his right elbow, started in rightfield against the Blue Jays on Friday night at the Stadium.

Why was Friday the right time?

“Just Aaron, the trainers, the work he’s put in here over the last several weeks, just getting to this point,” manager Aaron Boone said before the game. “Excited to get him back out there. 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 as we go.”

It marked Judge’s first appearance in the field since July 25. He went on the injured list on July 27 (retroactive to the 26th) and spent 10 days on the IL before returning on Aug. 5.

He was the DH for each of the Yankees’ previous 27 games since he returned.

“Obviously pay very close attention to it and pay attention to recovery and all that,” Boone said. “I don't plan on going every day with him initially, but hopefully we continue to build up and get to that point.”

Judge’s absence from the field pushed Giancarlo Stanton into the outfield last month for the first time since Sept. 14, 2023. He has played 17 games in the outfield with 15 starts — 12 in right and three in left.

Though Judge is back, Stanton’s outfield presence has made the situation fluid.

“Big G putting himself in the mix now is obviously a big deal,” Boone said. “So probably some kind of a shared situation.”

When asked if Judge will have any throwing restrictions, the manager said: “We’ll see.”

Judge’s presence cost the Yankees a run in the first inning. With the bases loaded, two outs and Toronto leading 1-0, Nathan Lukes lined a single to right. A healthy Judge easily would have thrown out Daulton Varsho, who was on second and had just started to round third by the time Judge began his throwing motion, but he softly flipped it to Jazz Chisholm Jr. as Varsho scooted home to extend Toronto’s lead to 3-0.

Outfield coach Luis Rojas has worked with Judge throughout his throwing program.

Rojas said  his recent work has consisted of a lot of relay throwing, throwing to bases and live reads. He threw from rightfield to home plate twice during this week’s Houston series and twice last week.

“I don't know if we're going to have the 100-mile-per-hour throw that we’ve seen in the past,” Rojas said. “He went through some stuff, the trainers did a good job with him. He feels really good to play the game. A guy like him, you got to trust always when he's going out there.”

Boone compared Judge’s build-up to a pitcher’s. He used plyometrics to get to the point that he was able to throw and gradually built upon that. Judge had some days in which he responded better than others, but Boone said he  had a “few good ones in a row” leading up to Friday.

Judge is right back in the thick of the MVP conversation with a .322/.442/.663 slash line, 43 homers and 97 RBIs in 130 games. Since returning to the lineup, he had a .242/.415/.474 slash line with six homers and 12 RBIs.

Stanton has held his own in the outfield — he made four straight starts in the field before Friday, the last three in left — and his plate presence has been invaluable. He hit his 19th home run in his last 47 games to bring the Yankees within 4-1 in the second inning Friday night and entered the game with a .283/.362/.609 slash line.

During the past month, Boone had to deal with the balancing act of penciling Judge in at DH each day while knowing that Stanton could not be an everyday outfielder. How tough were those decisions?

“I don't know how tough,” he said. “I mean, G and I communicate really well with it, so it's pretty straightforward from my standpoint with him. It's like, we're going to be smart about this. G understands that too and is very direct and honest, and so our communication through this was really good. So there were days where we pushed it a little bit. There were other days we're going to be disciplined to having a day down.

“And I think all in all, it's gone pretty well. Obviously, he's performed. I think he's done a nice job out there, and now it gives us that added flexibility now that he's in the mix out there moving forward.”

Extra bases

Jose Caballero started at shortstop  in place of Anthony Volpe, who was 3-for-24 against Kevin Gausman, Toronto’s starter Friday. Caballero was 5-for-7 against Gausman . . .  Outfielder Austin Slater (left hamstring strain) was activated Friday. Slater, who was acquired from the White Sox at the trade deadline, appeared in only three games with the Yankees before suffering the injury. Boone said the “lefty-killer” will provide bench depth and is a quality outfielder. Slater has a career .795 OPS against lefties and an .856 OPS as a pinch hitter . . .  Catcher J.C. Escarra was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

By Ben Dickson

benjamin.dickson@newsday.com@bendickson__

Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.