He’s back.
The 6-foot-7, slugging superhero that is Aaron Judge is making his return for the New York Yankees, who announced the roster move on Tuesday afternoon.
Judge was out with a right flexor strain in his right elbow. And in his absence, the Yanks have gone just 4-6.
During that 10-game stretch, the Yankees batted .231 and slugged a miserable .399.
Judge leads MLB in batting average (.342), on-base percentage (.449) and slugging percentage (.711).
“It’s Aaron Judge — we know what he means to our lineup, to the guys in the room,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com. “So to get him back, we’re certainly excited about that. And then hopefully, shortly thereafter, he’s back out in the field, too.”
MORE: Guardians’ Nic Enright reaches special personal milestone in comeback from cancer
Judge is expected to be the DH in New York’s lineup upon his return.
The Yankees hoped to have him play catch early this week to start mapping out a timeline for his return to right field.
Judge is a great outfielder, yes, but his return to the lineup is the main energizer here.
“The process they’re going through — as far as treatments, I know he did plyos today, and then he’ll start introducing playing catch, and then his arm will tell him,” Boone said.
MORE: Blue Jays’ Ernie Clement shows lifelong hitting ability in historic night for Toronto
New York has lost four games in a row leading into Judge’s return.
He has a tendency to do otherworldly things for the Yankees. This will be his latest chance to do so.
The Yankees are in Arlington taking on the Rangers, who won 8-5 over New York on Monday night.
Judge can take Austin Slater’s roster spot after the newly acquired outfielder hurt his left hamstring on Monday.
The big guy is back just in time for his bobblehead day on Aug. 13, too.
The Yankees are happy to have him, that’s for sure.
MORE MLB NEWS:
