Aaron Judge to Be Activated by Yankees; Hit DL with Wrist Injury in July

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge will return to the lineup for Friday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays after missing almost two months with a wrist injury. 

Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported Judge will not hit but is eligible to play the field and run the bases. 

Judge suffered a fractured wrist July 26. He was initially expected to miss only three weeks. 

"I'm not frustrated with the pace [of the healing]. I'm frustrated with being out," Judge told reporters last month. 

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman acknowledged the initial timeline was too optimistic.

"I'm not a doctor. We provide everything from our medical staff and Dr. Chris Ahmad," Cashman told reporters. "I think Chris is an exceptional doctor that has a great reputation, but at the same time you try to pinpoint with all eyes watching. You try to make evaluations and diagnoses and timelines … this is really the first one that I recall that's been off.

"I think we're lucky to have [Dr. Ahmad], but at the same time it's like anything else that plays out publicly for better or for worse at times. So this [recovery] has taken longer, so Judge will take as long as is necessary. If it's not right, it's not going to right and you won't see him. But the anticipation is that we will see him."

The Yankees lessened the burden on Judge when they acquired Andrew McCutchen via trade from the San Francisco Giants. McCutchen has hit .152/.383/.333 with two home runs and five runs batted in through 11 games with the Yankees.

"I'm not here to try to be selfish and feel like I deserve time to play or whatever that may be," McCutchen told reporters. "That's not me. I'm just trying to be a team player and help in any way I can."

McCutchen will likely head to the bench with Judge back in the lineup. Judge hit .285/.398/.548 with 26 home runs and 61 runs batted in through his first 99 games of the season. His return will finally bring the Yankees to full health and give them perhaps the best lineup in baseball.