New York (AFP) – New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit a key milestone in his recovery from a broken rib as he played catch for the first time since he was diagnosed on June 4.
“I know he threw and ran yesterday,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on Saturday before their game against the Blue Jays at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. “Hopefully (he’ll) continue to progress through this week and we’ll see what else gets introduced,” Boone added in comments posted on the team’s website.
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Judge, who won his third American League Most Valuable Player award last season, had played through pain for several weeks before he was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side. He said he thought he was injured trying to make a diving catch and avoid colliding with teammate Jazz Chisholm in an April 26 game.
The 34-year-old has 17 home runs with a .248 batting average this season but last played on May 31. At 68-54, the Yankees are 6.5 games behind leaders Tampa Bay in the American League East division race. Since Judge has been sidelined, they are 32-31, and they are eager for offensive reinforcements with Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton also injured.
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