Aaron Judge is back.
The Yankees were sluggish and the reigning AL MVP Activated from the injured list on Tuesday and will play for New York against the Oakland A's. Judge has been sidelined since April 27 with a hip sprain, missing New York's last 10 games. He missed just five games during his 2022 MVP season.
He initially suffered the concussion during an awkward head-first slide on a steal attempt on April 26 against the Minnesota Twins. At that point the Yankees led 5–0.
The 19–17 Yankees went 4–6 in his absence.
Judge said Monday that he is “ready to go” and hasn't felt any problems with his hip in several days. He also said that he had no regrets about the attempted steal in the game by the Yankees with a five-run lead. He will change his technique next time.
“I'll steal again,” Judge said, according to MLB.com. “I just wouldn't slide headfirst.”
Judge won MVP the previous season while setting an AL single-season record with 62 home runs. He also led the league with 131 RBIs. In 26 games this season, Judge is slashing .261/.352/.511 with 6 home runs and 14 RBI. The Yankees are in last place in the competitive AL East where all five teams have winning records, including the MLB-leading 29–7 Tampa Bay Rays.