Yankees' Aaron Judge activated off IL, returns to lineup for Tuesday's game

The captain is back.

Aaron Judge officially returned to the Yankees' lineup for Tuesday night's game against the Athletics, the first day the outfielder was eligible to return from a stint on the injured list. He would have avoided the IL had it been left up to him.

“I’m just happy to be back. I don’t like sitting out,” said Judge, who was sidelined with a right hip strain. “I love rooting on my teammates, but I’d rather be rooting them on while I’m on the field with them.”

The Yankees, who began Tuesday night at 19-17 and in last place in the stacked AL East, went 4-6 in Judge’s absence. His bat is very much a welcome addition to a lineup that has consistently struggled to score runs.

In truth, those issues began even when Judge was healthy but, obviously, the threat the reigning AL MVP presents by simply being in the lineup makes a dramatic difference regardless of who is on the mound for the opposition.

“MVP. Great player,” Aaron Boone said before Tuesday night’s game of what Judge adds. “You get one of the game’s great players back in the lineup and our leader and all that he brings between the lines and outside, excited to get him back.”

Speaking about Judge while the Yankees were in Arlington, a couple of days before the Yankees made the decision to put him on the IL, Boone bluntly expressed what his club would be missing.

“He’s arguably the best player in the sport,” Boone said. “It’s no secret what he means to our team.”

Judge appeared in each of the Yankees’ first 26 games. He was removed from a game on April 27 in Texas against the Rangers with the right hip strain that would cause him to be put on the IL, against the outfielder’s wishes, on May 1.  

The injury occurred when Judge went into third base with an awkward head-first slide trying to steal a base April 26 in Minneapolis against the Twins.

Judge landed hard on his right side, rolling both hands in the process. It appeared as if he might have hurt his right wrist – he winced as he made a fist leaving the field that afternoon after getting thrown out at third – but started a day later against the Rangers. During Judge’s second at-bat of that April 27th game, however, Boone saw his player favoring the hip and pulled him.  

Judge said Monday, in declaring himself 100%, it had been nearly a week since he felt anything in the hip, and Boone Tuesday said there were no plans to take a conservative approach.

“Full-bore,” Boone said in characterizing Judge and his playing time. “Every day we’ll check with him to make sure how he’s doing and stuff.”

The 31-year-old Judge, who started in right and batted second Tuesday, returned with the Yankees in the fifth game of a stretch of 17 straight before their next off-day May 22.

“There may be one (game) in there (he gets an off-day),” Boone said. “I’ll (use him at DH) as part of that (stretch) I’m sure a handful of times. So we’ll be mindful of it, but, no, I’m not looking at him as having any restrictions.”

Judge came into Tuesday hitting 261 with six homers and an .863 OPS. He had been in a mini-slump when he hit the IL, hitting .222 (8-for-36) with one homer, six RBIs and a .682 OPS over his previous 10 games.

“I’m ready to go,” Judge said. “Glad it’s over with and ready to get back to this team.”