Yankees: Aaron Judge may be back sooner than we hoped

Yankees superstar Aaron Judge was plunked by the Royals starter Jakob Junis in the first inning on July 26 ending up having a chip fracture of his right wrist — and ever since then, he’s been on the disabled list.

Not every team has a player like Aaron Judge. Yankees superstar Aaron Judge is one of the top players on the roster, who has the most walks, earning 68 base-on-balls to be precise.

Judge has also cut down tremendously on strikeouts, racking up 208 in 2017 as compared to 137 this season, although he’s been out since July 26.

In a big blow to catching the Red Sox for first place in the AL East, Judge was plunked by Royals starter Jakob Junis in the first inning almost seven weeks ago. He exited the game and headed to New York Presbyterian Hospital for an MRI exam which revealed he had a chip fracture on his right wrist and has been on the disabled list since then.

On August 15, in a live radio interview with Mike Francesa of WFAN 101.9 FM, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the team was being overly optimistic about Judge returning within three weeks — and instead, it may take longer to get him back:

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"“We thought maybe three weeks would cover it, but it’s going to be longer than that,” Cashman told WFAN 101.9 FM’s Mike Francesa in a live radio interview. “So, we missed on the time frame.”"

Judge was given a cortisone shot to help relieve the pain some two weeks ago. On August 16,  he expressed his frustrations about still being on the disabled list.

Who can blame him? Judge wants to go out there and help push the Yanks to Postseason. He quickly became one of the Yankees best and brightest players.

Finally, on September 3, we heard some good news. Judge took 25 dry swings and 25 swings off a tee for the first time and didn’t feel any pain, just soreness. He told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com that it’s a big step and we may see him back sooner, rather than later.

"“It’s definitely a big step. I’m excited,” Judge said. “It’s kind of on track with what I wanted to accomplish. I’m excited about the progress we’re making so far.”“It’s still broken, so there is some soreness that comes with that, but for the most part I’m feeling great,” Judge said. “I’m glad that I’m able to start swinging and then kind of ramp it up here. Hopefully, I’ll be back on the field in a week or two. We’ll see.”"

This is exciting news, especially since Judge is essential to balancing team chemistry.

With the Yankees still 3.5 games ahead of the Oakland Athletics for the first Wild Card spot, getting Judge back would help secure the Bombers getting home field advantage in the WC Game.

Unfortunately, I don’t see the Yanks being able to capture the AL East crown, as the Yanks are currently 8.5 games back of the Red Sox.

However, you never know — especially with six head-to-head games left with Boston. With Judge, Didi Gregorius, Gary Sanchez and Giancarlo Stanton all back together in the lineup, anything is possible Murderous Row 2.0.