Aaron Judge hints he could be back after the All Stars game on July 11 – as Yankees teammate Gerrit Cole makes ‘praying’ gesture on the Today show
Aaron Judge might have just given the first subtle hint of when he is going to return for the New York Yankees.
The star slugger for the Bronx Bombers has been out since the start of June when he crashed through a wall and tore a ligament in his toe playing against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
Ever since, the Yankees have been remarkably coy over when Judge will be back. At one point, manager Aaron Boone even stopped short of ruling him out for the season.
But Judge, Boone and pitcher Gerrit Cole appeared on NBC’s ‘Today’ show on Monday morning and Judge was inevitably asked on when he’s going to get back to the plate for the Yankees.
Yankees star Aaron Judge has given an update on his return from a troublesome toe injury
Gerrit Cole joking made a ‘prayer’ sign with his hands after Judge said he could be back soon
Judge injured his toe falling through the outfield fence at Dodger Stadium in June
‘Hopefully soon. We’ll see,’ Judge said. “We got the All-Star Game coming up here, so hopefully that will buy me a couple days and we’ll be back there soon.’
Host presenter Craig Melvin joked ‘what I just heard is Aaron Judge is coming back after the All Stars’ and, amid the laughter, Cole made a very clear ‘praying’ gesture with his hands.
Melvin also asked the Yankees captain Judge how he has been able to stay involved with the team while being hurt.
‘Just trying to stay locked in,’ Judge said. ‘Help a teammate, pick a teammate up. If I see someone struggling during a game, try to give them words of encouragement.’
Judge has been seen at most Yankees games since his June 3 injury but the height of his activities since the injury has been playing catch with teammates in the outfield.
‘Definitely good to see him out here walking and playing some catch. Another step on the road back,’ Yankees manager Aaron Boone said last week. ‘Been slow moving, obviously, but at least we continue to see steady progress.’
Boone added Judge needs to: ‘Really being able to torque and turn on that back foot and stuff (before he can return).
‘When we get to that point where he starts being able to let it go hitting wise, that´ll be a good indicator that now it´s just about getting built up and ready to go.’
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