NEW YORK — Aaron Judge will need one more scan before being seriously active while his broken rib heals, and the New York Yankees placed their captain on the 60-day injured list on Saturday.
Sidelined since May 31, Judge underwent a scan during the All-Star break that was reviewed by Dr. Gregory J. Pearl, chief of vascular surgery at Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital in Texas.
“There’s obviously a recovery going on, which is good, but there’s still no way to start any baseball activities or anything like that,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers was rained out and rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader on Sunday.
“He needs to get to the point where he doesn’t have any symptoms and then you really start to ramp up the upper body work,” Boone said.
Judge, 34, is hitting .248 with 17 homers and 38 RBIs, but he had just one homer in his last 18 games before landing on the injured list.
“The good news is that you know that over the last couple of weeks the pain has subsided somewhat and changed from being acute to being more severe,” Boone said. “So hopefully he continues to improve and then we can start to improve.”
Boone said how Judge feels will determine when he goes for another scan. New York was 36-23 when the outfielder last played, but has been 18-20 since then.
His move to the 60-day IL was procedural to open up a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Bradley Hanner, whose contract was optioned from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Hanner was then returned to the RailRiders.
Schmidt could return to the bullpen
Clark Schmidt practiced for the first time since Tommy John surgery last July 11 and said he hit 95 mph.
A right-hander, Schmidt threw four-seamers, sinkers and cutters among 15 pitches to Anthony Volpe and Ali Sanchez. He didn’t throw sliders, sweepers or crooked knuckles.
“It’s not the full experience of playing with butterflies and things like that, but it’s close,” Schmidt said. “Being able to put your stuff out there and come back in a year is a good feeling.”
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During this operation, 30-year-old Schmidt was fitted with an internal brace. He had Tommy John surgery in May 2017, a month before the Yankees selected him with the 16th overall pick in the amateur draft.
“First of all, when you kind of start the bullpen phase, you feel a little yucky at times and you have a lot more days where you’re like, ‘Ah, this isn’t very good,’” he said. “It just makes me feel a little better when I don’t have to go back and have those days where you work a little bit.”
Schmidt is scheduled to train again in four or five days. He could return this season as a pitcher and is open to becoming a starter or bridge pitcher.
“I know I’m a little more limited this year in terms of being able to get more innings,” he said. “Obviously I’m open to anything as long as I’m competing and I can help the guys.
“I know I will be able to return at some point in some aspect of this year.”
Stanton’s possible return is nearby
Boone hopes designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton is close to returning from a right calf strain that has sidelined him since April 24.
“He’s been progressing in running and hitting for a week now,” Boone said. “Obviously he had a setback three or four weeks ago but he seems to be moving in the right direction so hopefully he’s getting closer.”
Stanton still doesn’t run the bases.
Fried to get another minor league rehab start
Left-hander Max Fried, sidelined since May 14 with a left ulna contusion, made his first rehab start Friday in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against Worcester, allowing two runs and five hits over three innings with three strikeouts and no walks.
“He looked very good. I watched him the whole game,” Boone said. “He felt really good. So, 52 pitches, so one more in five days. We’ll go up to that and see what we can do from there.”
Pawn shop is a potential option
Shortstop prospect George Lombard Jr. went 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk for the RailRiders on Friday night after returning from the injured list. He has not played for Scranton since June 16 due to a dislocated finger on his left hand.
“Obviously it’s no secret how highly we think of George,” Boone said. “Obviously he had a good game last night, so he’s certainly pushing himself more and more in his development to be in the conversation.”
The son of a former major leaguer, Lombard, 21, is hitting .239 with five homers, 16 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 43 games at Triple-A.
“I want him to come back here, recover from his injury and start hitting his stride in a few days,” Boone said.