TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton will return to the New York Yankees’ lineup in right field Tuesday night after missing three games with what the team described as general soreness, manager Aaron Boone told radio station WFAN while also providing an update on Aaron Judge.
Boone said there is no timetable on a return to the outfield for Judge, who might not return to full health this season.
“I don’t think we’re going to see him throwing like he normally does at any point this year, but that’s OK,” Boone said. “We’ve got to feel like he can go out there and protect himself.”
Judge, however, pushed back before Tuesday night’s rain-delayed game against Tampa Bay, saying he feels “way better” than earlier this month, when he couldn’t make a 60-foot toss. He said he has thrown out to 250 feet and sounded optimistic about getting back to full strength.
“I don’t know why he said that,” Judge said of Boone’s earlier comment. “He hasn’t seen me throw for the past two weeks, so I’m pretty confident I’ll get back to (100%).”
Boone backed up his comment a bit.
“Maybe that’s a little overstated,” he said. “Is he going to come back and be a 70-80 arm? I don’t know that I’m expecting that necessarily. But when we get him back out there, I would expect him to be able to handle it.”
Judge has been limited to designated hitter since being activated from the injured list on Aug. 5. Boone said he is waiting on the training staff for clearance and did not expect Judge to play the outfield in Tampa, adding, “Could it be Boston? Maybe. I just don’t know yet.”
The Yankees are coming off a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals and hold a three-game lead for an American League wild card. Offensively, they will be satisfied if Judge can simply remain productive at the plate. He entered the week batting .333 with 39 home runs, 91 RBIs and a 1.134 OPS, all among the league leaders. His home run Sunday was his first extra-base hit since returning.
Judge’s inability to play the field has reduced the team’s flexibility. Stanton is batting .299 with 12 home runs, 34 RBIs and a .953 OPS this season, but his long injury history makes any outfield assignment a risk.
He did not debut until mid-June because of tendinitis in both elbows. After playing three straight games in the outfield last week, Stanton missed three with soreness. He has declined to specify where the discomfort occurred.
In other news, the Yankees reinstated utilityman Amed Rosario from the 10-day injured list and placed left-hander Brent Headrick on the 15-day IL (retroactive to Aug. 16) with a bruised left forearm.
The team also transferred right-hander Fernando Cruz's rehab assignment from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to Double-A Somerset.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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