Aaron Judge believes his return to the New York Yankees is moving faster than expected, with the captain saying on Thursday that he does not think he will need a minor-league rehab assignment before coming back. After nearly three months out with a stress fracture in his right first rib, Judge sounded increasingly confident that the final phase of his recovery is now about building volume rather than proving fitness in game action.
Judge last played on May 31 and was cleared for limited physical activity on Aug. 6, but the latest update suggested a stronger push toward a return. The Yankees are now looking toward the Sept. 11-13 Subway Series rematch in the Bronx as a possible window, with Judge’s presence looming as the biggest boost they could get before the stretch run.
Judge: “Why waste at-bats?”
Judge was direct about why he does not see the point of a rehab stint. “I feel great, so I think that’s one reason why we’re kind of speeding through this,” he said, adding that he is “doing more outside, doing more in the cage” and is now focused on getting his volume back up after such a long layoff.
He was even clearer when asked about a minor-league assignment. “Why waste at-bats? Why waste anything down in a minor-league game?” Judge said. “I’ve been doing this for a while now. I got a sense of what I need to do on the field and how to manage it. So why waste the at-bats at Double-A or Triple-A?”
That is the key point in this story. Judge is not questioning the idea of ramping up carefully; he is saying the ramp-up does not necessarily need to happen away from the Yankees. For a player who has already gone through major injury recoveries before, the belief is that his body and routine can tell the story without a formal rehab stop.
Boone is prepared to work through the detail
Aaron Boone did not shut the door on the idea of a rehab assignment, but he also did not sound alarmed by Judge’s preference. “He said that to me, too,” Boone said. “If and when we get to that point, we’ll work through all that.”
Boone added, “I don’t worry about that part of it.” That suggests the Yankees are more focused on Judge’s progression than on the exact route back. If he keeps responding well to baseball activity, the decision may end up being driven by how he feels rather than by a fixed rehab plan.
There is also recent precedent. In 2023, Judge skipped a rehab assignment after a torn ligament in his right big toe, which makes his current stance less surprising. The difference now is the timing: the Yankees are into the late-summer portion of the season, and every day Judge gains matters more.
What it means for the Yankees
The Yankees have managed nearly three months without their captain, but Judge remains the player around whom so much of their lineup is built. A return before the Subway Series would restore a familiar anchor at exactly the point when the season starts to tighten.
For now, the signs are positive rather than final. Judge said the recovery is speeding up, and the next step is simply to keep progressing. If that continues, the Yankees may get their three-time MVP back without sending him to Scranton, Somerset, Double-A or Triple-A first.
