Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge throws to bases for first time since flexor strain

NEW YORK (AP) – Nearly a month after going on the injured list with a flexor strain in his right elbow, New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge took the next step in his throwing progression Sunday by briefly throwing to bases from right field.

There is still no timetable for Judge’s return to the outfield in a game.

The two-time AL MVP threw with a little more intensity about five hours before the Yankees played the Boston Red Sox in the finale of their four-game series. Fielding flyballs hit by coach Luis Rojas, Judge threw to a cutoff man behind second base and also continued his normal throwing program.

“It felt like just playing catch,” Judge said. “It felt good.”

Judge has not played the outfield since July 25, when he experienced difficulty throwing during a 12-5 loss to Philadelphia. An MRI the next day showed no acute damage to his ulnar collateral ligament that would cause a lengthy absence.

Judge was placed on the injured list and missed 10 games before returning Aug. 5 in Texas. The Yankees went 4-6 without him.

He was the designated hitter for the 17th straight game Sunday night and entered hitting .218 with three homers and seven RBIs since returning.

“Brutal,” Judge said about not playing the outfield. “I’m a ballplayer. I want to play both sides of the ball. I want to be out there making plays on defense, helping my team out. I know hitting’s important and all that, but I feel like I can impact the team on both sides. I can’t wait to get back out there.”

Judge leads the major leagues with a .326 batting average and 1.114 OPS. He has 40 homers and 92 RBIs for a team that entered Sunday night six games behind first-place Toronto in the AL East and 1 1/2 back of the Red Sox for the first American League wild card.

“I think he continues to improve,” manager Aaron Boone said. “As far as when, I don’t know. The bottom line is we want to do this the right way. As much as he wants to be out there and we want him out there, we’ve got to make sure we want to do everything to put ourselves in the best position to not reinjure this.

“So as the progression goes his body will tell us, but it was definitely another good step forward I think.”

Normally the DH, Giancarlo Stanton made his eighth start in right field Sunday after not playing the field since September 2023 due to injury concerns. He could share time with Judge in the outfield if and when the latter returns to the field.

Stanton has struggled to move on defense at times and he did not start for three straight games Aug. 15-17 after playing each game in a three-game series at Yankee Stadium against Minnesota.

“I don’t know that, either,” Boone said about Stanton and Judge sharing right field. “It’ll be, how’s he look, how’s he responding, how is he bouncing back every day? It may be a shared thing. Tough to answer that one at this point.”