ANAHEIM, Calif. — Aaron Judge traveled with the New York Yankees for their weeklong West Coast trip, and manager Aaron Boone said Monday night that the outfielder is nearing a return to the lineup.
Speaking before New York opened a series with a 10-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium, Boone said Judge is "doing well" as he recovers from a stress fracture in his rib. Judge has not appeared in a game since May 31 after playing with pain for more than a month.
When asked whether Judge might be in the lineup when the Yankees return home on Sept. 8 to face the Colorado Rockies, Boone was optimistic.
"I think it's possible," Boone said. "I'm not going to put a date on it. But I think those things are in play now. Again, it's about getting the durability and the workload built up on him, which is the biggest thing now."
Last week, Judge, who is 34 and officially on the 60-day injured list, told reporters in New York that he needed to "be smart over the next couple of weeks" while ramping up activity. He said at the time that he had not undergone another scan to measure the rib's healing since he was cleared for light physical activity at the beginning of August.
During batting practice Monday, Judge was out in right field doing defensive drills. He has been hitting inside over the past week, not yet against high velocity, but responding well, according to Boone. Judge has said he hopes to avoid a rehab assignment, instead using the Trajekt machine, which simulates live pitches from big leaguers, to make up for the absence.
"He's here to kind of continue to ramp up baseball activities," Boone said during Monday's pregame media availability. "We're getting closer, but we feel good about where he's at."
The Yankees opened the road trip having just taken three of four from the Boston Red Sox. At 78-60, New York is in the No. 1 wild-card slot in the American League. Judge is batting .248 with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs this season.
In a separate roster move, the Yankees claimed reliever John Schreiber off waivers from the Royals, with roughly $600,000 remaining on his contract. The right-hander had a 3.65 ERA in 55 appearances with Kansas City this season, holding right-handed batters to a .143 average and .414 OPS. Lefties, however, hit .326 with a 1.024 OPS against him.
Pitching coach Matt Blake described Schreiber as a "complement to Timmy [Hill] in some ways to get some of these heavy righty lanes." Boone said the team is familiar with Schreiber from his time with Boston and Kansas City, including the Royals' 2024 playoff run.
In other injury updates, infield prospect Lombard Jr. remained out of the lineup with right knee inflammation, though he tested the knee with running and agility drills. Third baseman Ryan McMahon is expected to be activated Tuesday when rosters expand from 26 to 28. Reliever Justin Topa elected free agency after being designated for assignment on Saturday.