The Yankees don't have a hard return date for Aaron Judge this season, but one member of the club gave his estimate for Judge's comeback timeline.
Amid the New York Yankees' slump, everyone's talking about when star slugger Aaron Judge might return from injury.
Judge has been out since June 3, when he ran into a wall and injured his right big toe. He's missed the last 18 games and New York's offense has suffered woefully in his absence: the Yankees have an 8-11 record without their captain and are now 9.5 games behind the first place Tampa Bay Rays.
The million-dollar question is: when will Judge return?
According to Judge himself, he "can't make any promises." That's what he told the New York Post on Sunday while also saying all the things any player in his position would say. He expects to be back, he's going to do everything he can to get healthy, and he wishes he had a clearer answer about his recovery timeline.
Per the Post, one member of the Yankees dared to give his cautious estimate on Judge's return, albeit he stayed anonymous:
Word is Judge doesn't like guesses when doctors apparently aren't so precise, and only one Yankees person dared to provide an estimate. For what it's worth (maybe little), that person guessed Judge could be back a week or two after the All-Star break.
Yankees: Aaron Judge could return shortly after All-Star break
Since Judge hasn't yet suited up for any baseball drills, returning a week after the All-Star break feels a little too optimistic.
The 2022 MVP explained how his injury was different from, say, a stubbed toe or even turf toe in the NFL. He tore a ligament in his toe when he collided with the wall in Dodgers Stadium, and it appears as though his recovery timeline is blurrier than most.
Yankees hitters have tried and failed to replicate Judge's production in his painful absence with the likes of Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo particularly struggling at the plate.
Keep in mind there's no guarantee that Judge will be back this season despite the one anonymous estimate on his return date. These are sorrowful times for the New York Yankees.
