SAN DIEGO — New York Yankees superstar right fielder Aaron Judge took another key step in his return to the majors by participating in on-field batting practice for the first time since he was placed on the injured list in early June.
Judge took several rounds of batting practice at Petco Park before Friday night’s game against the San Diego Padres. He didn’t view the batting practice as a major step in his return, other than saying he was following orders from the Yankees’ medical staff.
“You’ve got to check all of the boxes so that you get cleared to play,” Judge said.
“I’m mad how long it’s taking,” he added. “It is what it is. I wish it was real two months ago, but we’re at this point, and we’re getting close. Can’t wait to be back out there.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said earlier this week in Anaheim, Calif., that “it’s possible” Judge could return to the lineup during the club’s upcoming home stand, which begins Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies. But before he returns to the lineup, Judge said he will face live pitching at least “a couple of times.” The Yankees do not anticipate Judge facing any live pitching Saturday or Sunday, making a return Tuesday seem unlikely.
Aaron Judge is taking batting practice pic.twitter.com/vAcVOYaLIp
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) September 5, 2026
Since accompanying the Yankees on their West Coast trip, Judge has started ramping up his pregame work. He has run the bases, worked on outfield drills and continued taking batting practice indoors. Boone said the final few steps for Judge’s return include building up his workload because he has been sidelined for over three months with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side.
“Just trying to get the volume up so that we can be in a good spot,” Judge said. “Not doing nothing for three months, it feels like it’s an offseason, you’re kind of going back into spring training.”
Usually players who have missed several months will do a minor-league rehab assignment as their final step before returning to the majors. But Judge reiterated that he has no interest in getting any at-bats in the minors. Any player can refuse a rehab assignment, according to the collective bargaining agreement. Clubs must receive written consent from players before sending them on rehab assignments, so Judge could simply not sign off if he chooses.
The Yankees tend to be cautious with players who have been sidelined for months. Numerous checkpoints must be passed before the club deems a player is fully healthy and ready to participate in MLB games. That almost always includes a rehab assignment, but it might be a battle the Yankees won’t win with their biggest star.
“I don’t see a point,” Judge said of a rehab assignment. “Why waste at-bats? They haven’t told me they wanted me to do one, so we’ll see.”
But if the Yankees can’t get Judge at-bats in the minors next week, they will have no choice but to have their own pitchers throw him live batting practice before games. If the plan is for him to go through a couple of days of pregame live batting practice, next Friday against the New York Mets could be a realistic timeline. Next Friday marks the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the Yankees are planning several pregame ceremonies to commemorate the date.
Judge, who was also Team USA’s captain in the World Baseball Classic, figures to be a prominent part of those ceremonies, whether he’s playing that day or not.
“It’s going to be a big day,” Judge said. “It impacted not only a lot of New Yorkers, but the whole world and our whole country. I think the last time we played the Mets on 9/11 was in ’21. Just seeing all of us get together, it was a great game, getting all of New York together for one night like that.
“I don’t know about playing or not playing, but I’ll definitely be there.”