Even the empty seats at Yankee Stadium watched every move Aaron Judge made in the late Wednesday afternoon. And what they saw in the first inning of an intra-squad game made them smile.
After being scratched from an in-school game Saturday due to a stiff neck, Judge returned to action and sent the second pitch he saw of James Paxton to the net over Monument Park.
The judge went 1 for 3 with a walk.
Earlier in the day, manager Aaron Boone said Judge’s pregame training was good, that the right fielder would be in the lineup that night.
So when Judge took earth balls in right field and threw flying balls hitting the wall, the first step in the process was complete. The judge went through a batting practice session with no problem with his neck.
And there was certainly nothing wrong with throwing that home run to center field.
“The plan for him is to play [Wednesday night]. We want to make sure it happens [the pregame] And I hope it’s good to go tonight, ” Boone said before the departure of his right fielder who appeared to be ready for Opening Day on July 23 in Washington.
After Judge held a few rounds of batting practice on Tuesday, Boone was confident that Judge would be available on Wednesday.
“I think we look at it [Tuesday] it was almost there, ” Boone said. “He had a good day at work [Tuesday]. Making sure he came in with the necessary improvement. ”
The judge arrived on the second Wednesday between Aaron Hicks and Gleyber Torres. He walked on his second at-bat in the third, also against Paxton, in a full count.
Judge reported to spring training in March with discomfort in his right shoulder, which was later diagnosed as a fracture of his upper right rib and kept him out of exhibition games in Florida.
If the season hadn’t stopped due to the coronavirus that shut down spring training 1.0, Judge wouldn’t have been ready to play before March 26, the original opening day. Privately, the Yankees believed it would be June or July before the judge was ready.
Given that Giancarlo Stanton, who also homered against Paxton in the first inning, would not have been ready for the Orioles on Opening Day due to a calf muscle strain, and Hicks did not expect to return from Tommy John surgery until June. In July, the original lineup probably would have had Mike Tauchman on the right, Clint Frazier on the left, Brett Gardner in the center and possibly Miguel Andujar as DH.
So when Spring 2.0 training opened on July 4, Judge had been working in Tampa and was ready to go.
A stiff neck is no cause for alarm, but the fact that the judge is scratched is a big problem, considering that his past two seasons were marred by injuries that cost him considerable playing time.
In 2018, Judge played in 112 games due to a broken right wrist in July. A year ago, Judge suffered oblique strain in April that limited him to 102 games, but did not interfere with the Yankees’ victory over the American League East.
The injuries have some Yankees fans wondering why the club doesn’t move Judge to first base to keep him healthy. However, Boone said early in the shutdown that the Yankees have not discussed such a move because they believe Judge is an elite outfielder.
With a 60 game schedule, no one knows how this season will play out, but getting 50-55 games from Judge would certainly make for a deeper lineup. Beyond Hicks, Judge, and Torres, Boone has Stanton, Gary Sanchez, Luke Voit, Gardner, and Gio Urshela to complete a lineup card that is stronger with Judge on board.
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