New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge believes he can return at some point in September from a rib fracture without playing in any minor-league rehab games.
"I feel great," Judge said, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "That's one reason why we're kind of speeding through this and really doing more outside, doing more in the cages. Things are feeling good, and hopefully it's progressed. Now it's about volume, trying to get my volume back up since I haven't played in quite a long time."
Judge, who hasn't played since May 31, started batting practice earlier this week but has yet to face high-velocity pitching during his recovery.
The three-time AL MVP added he could get hitting reps by using the Trajekt, machine work, and facing rehabbing pitchers instead of a minor-league stint.
"I didn't rehab in '23 when I missed probably the same amount of time," Judge said. "Why waste at-bats? Why waste anything down in a minor- league game? I've been doing this for a while now, and I've got a sense of what I need to do on the field and how to manage it. Why waste some at-bats in Double-A or Triple-A?"
The 34-year-old is also eyeing a return to right field when he's back with the Yankees.
"I play outfield, so I'm hoping to come back (in the) outfield," Judge said. "I'm not the manager. I don't make the lineup. Hopefully, I'm out there in the outfield somewhere."
New York has gone 39-34 without Judge. However, the club owns the worst batting average in baseball (.222) and the sixth-worst slugging percentage (.388) during that span.
