New York Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge has been sidelined since early June with an injured right big toe that he suffered after colliding with a Dodger Stadium fence to the bullpen. Although he received a platelet-rich plasma injection on Thursday, the Yankees still do not have a timetable on when they expect him to rejoin the lineup, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.
"I think there's a shot for that," manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Friday (including Hoch) about the possibility of Judge returning before the All-Star Game. "That said, I don't know. I mean, I think he could be back in a week. He could be back in four. I don't know."
The 2023 All-Star Game is scheduled to be played on Tuesday, July 11 at Seattle.
Judge, 31, has played in just 49 of the Yankees first 69 games because of injury. In those contests, he's hit .291/.404/.674 (192 OPS+) with 19 home runs and 40 runs batted in. For those wondering, he had averaged a home run every 11.2 plate appearances -- or, roughly the same rate as last year, when he broke the American League and Yankees franchise single-season home-run records.
The Yankees are 30-19 when Judge is in the lineup this season. They entered Friday's series against the Boston Red Sox with a 39-30 record overall, meaning they're 9-11 without the reigning AL Most Valuable Player Award recipient. With Harrison Bader also sidelined because of injury, the Yankees have had to resort to an outfield that includes some combination of Jake Bauers, Billy McKinney, Willie Calhoun and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
Judge re-signed with the Yankees last offseason after reaching free agency, returning on a nine-year pact worth $360 million.
