Yankees: Aaron Judge activated from DL, but don’t get too excited

Yankees superstar Aaron Judge has finally been activated from the 10-day disabled list. However, there’s one huge one catch; he won’t be hitting — not yet.

Ah, finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months of waiting for Aaron Judge to be activated from the 10-day disabled list — and it finally occurred on Friday, prior to the Yankees thrashing of the Blue Jays, 11-0.

Don’t get too excited, though. Unfortunately, Judge isn’t ready to start hitting yet, from what manager Aaron Boone stated. With the roster expanded, Judge will act as a pinch-runner or be a defensive replacement for now.

The question remains, when will Judge be fully cleared? The Yanks can’t afford to be in this will he/won’t he position with the Postseason on the line. Judge is batting .285 with 26 home runs and 61 RBIs while slashing .398/.548/.947. A healthy Judge is crucial to this team, and anytime he’s written into the lineup, good things happen.

According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, manager Aaron Boone says Judge will continue taking batting practice and eventually face live pitching, which is something he has yet to do.

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“He’s doing great,” Boone said. “He’ll be hitting in Group 2 today and we’ll continue to ramp up from a hitting standpoint this weekend. We’ve got a plan in place over the next few days that we’ll activate as we get closer, too. He’s getting real close to being an option for us.”

Judge genuinely has fantastic plate discipline, which is evident in his 88 walks this season. That is beyond incredible for someone who is still only in their sophomore year. Ironically, many pundits thought he would experience a sophomore slump, but the opposite has occurred.

I am a huge Aaron Judge fan, not just because of his plate discipline, but because of how he carries himself both on and off the field. He’s a model for children and fellow players alike.