Aaron Judge Expected to Return to Yankees Next Week Amid Elbow Injury, Boone Says

The New York Yankees are targeting a Tuesday or Wednesday return for injured outfielder Aaron Judge, manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Friday.

Judge, who has been sidelined for a week with a flexor strain, took live batting practice on Friday before the Yankees' game against the Miami Marlins, per USA Today's Pete Caldera.

Judge will travel to take live at-bats in Tampa on Sunday in the hope of returning to the lineup as a designated hitter during the Yankees' upcoming road series against the Texas Rangers, per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.

The outfielder will not resume throwing until the two-week mark, per YES Network's Meredith Marakovits.

As pointed out on a YES Network broadcast, Judge appeared to be in pain after a throw from the outfield during a July 22 game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Boone moved him to the DH slot ahead of the Yankees' next game against the Blue Jays on July 23.

Judge returned to the outfield on July 25 against the Philadelphia Phillies, only to be placed on the 10-day IL on July 26 after Boone told reporters the slugger "couldn't throw well from the outfield."

Boone then identified Judge's injury as a "flexor strain" while noting the issue had left his UCL intact.

The manager said last weekend that Judge's "first few days" coming back from the injury would likely be played at DH.

"And then he'll start throwing in around then, and then hopefully get back to the outfield shortly thereafter," Boone said last Saturday.

Boone continued, "Part of this is, with that strain, if you go out there and play with it, you put the UCL in jeopardy. So, we've got to get that healed up."

ESPN's Jeff Passan defined the flexor issue as impacting "the bundle of muscles in the forearm that connects to the elbow and serves as a brake to take stress and strain off the UCL."

Judge had played every game of the 2025 season heading into last weekend. He led MLB with a .342 batting average through 103 games prior to his injury.

Making sure he is healthy down the stretch will be key to the Yankees' title hopes after bringing in players including David Bednar, Ryan McMahon, Amed Rosario and Austin Slater before Thursday's trade deadline in order to load up for a postseason run.