Yankees News: Aaron Judge Rules Out In-Season Surgery for Toe Injury amid Rehab

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, who has been out for a month with a torn ligament in his right big toe, told reporters Tuesday that he will not be getting in-season surgery to rectify the problem.

"We're not doing that this year," Judge said, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

Judge has made some progress, telling reporters that he's started doing light hitting drills. He also started playing catch last week, but there is no clear timetable for a return with him not near 100 percent healthy as of yet, per Kirschner.

The Yankee captain gave more insight on what's ahead.

"Besides running is me being able to put 270 pounds on one leg when I'm hitting," Judge said. "Once we build up that strength and get the pain out of there, we're going to be in a good spot. I kind of understand you're going to deal with some pain coming back, so it's just about getting to a point where it's tolerable and we're not setting ourselves back here."

The 31-year-old Judge has not played since June 3, when he suffered the injury after crashing through the Dodger Stadium right field wall to make a catch and help preserve a 6-3 road win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The reigning American League MVP has hit .291 (1.078 OPS) with 19 home runs and 40 RBI in 49 games.

The Yankees had a 35-25 record after beating the Dodgers on June 3. They've gone just 12-13 since with the offense largely going dormant without the superstar outfielder. New York has at least treaded water with Jake Bauers, Billy McKinney and Anthony Volpe doing much of the work at the plate, while the bullpen has largely excelled as well.

New York is tied with the Houston Astros for the second wild card spot in the American League, a pair of games ahead of the last team outside the playoff picture right now in the Toronto Blue Jays.

Ultimately, the Yankees are still squarely in the playoff race even with Judge out, but this team obviously needs him back to have any chance at a run to their 28th World Series. For now, it's a wait-and-see game as Judge continues to work his way back into the mix.