Aaron Judge takes batting practice, another step closer to rejoining the Yankees

Yankees fans have lived and died with each injury update on star right-fielder Aaron Judge. Late last night, reports emerged indicating Judge still felt pain in his wrist. The fanbase groaned and wonder if his season was in jeopardy. Fear not, however, because glad tidings and videos of dingers await.

For the first time since suffering a fractured wrist on July 26th, Judge took on-field batting practice. He completed a round on Saturday indoors, but now he’s in front of cameras, out in the open for all to see. He did well, too!

There were doubles...

And home runs, too:

These batting practice sessions lead one to believe that a return could be in the books. Marc Carig of The Athletic thinks a short rehab stint is possible with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, assuming their playoff push runs long enough. Judge, for what it’s worth, fully expects to rejoin the lineup before season’s end.

“I knew I was going to be back in some meaningful games here down the stretch,” he explained to Pete Caldera on Sunday. “I’m just excited to get closer, I’m one step closer every day.’’

Judge, 26, hit .285/.398/.548 with 26 home runs before landing on the disabled list. The Yankees’ offense has sputtered since he got hurt, so adding his bat to the lineup would be huge. The Bombers made do without him, but there’s no replacing Judge and his 155 wRC+. Come back soon, please.