Aaron Judge reportedly returning to Yankees on Friday in wild twist

Sorry for the pessimistic takes on Tuesday. You could at least understand why the ping-ponging updates on Aaron Judge's injury status were frustrating and how they weren't changing the New York Yankees' outlook ahead of the trade deadline.

But what a difference 24 hours makes! According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees plan to activate Judge on Friday ahead of the team's weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles, which some reporters were speculating not too long ago.

Sherman mentioned that Judge was actually pushing to play in this week's Subway Series, but the team opted to take the more cautious route. For as much as fans can't stand the Yankees' medical staff, that was probably the right call.

But after participating in some simulated games on Tuesday and ramping up his rehab work in Tampa on Wednesday, the reports were apparently positive enough to make the Yankees feel comfortable letting the news out there.

Now, we'll have to wait and see how his presence might alter the Yankees' trade deadline approach, which has been a contentious talking point for over a month now.

Aaron Judge reportedly returning to Yankees for Orioles series

Of course, though, we can leave it to manager Aaron Boone to lie to the media once again. Moments after this news broke via Sherman, Boone told reporters he was still waiting for a "full update" on Judge (just like he said on Tuesday when he was asked about Judge's rehab) but that he "wouldn't rule out" Judge playing this weekend.

How do his press conferences constantly coincide without him having all of the information? Anybody care to explain that? Why is the manager either going in front of the media to safeguard the truth or not be prepared to answer questions he knows he's going to face?

The Yankees remain 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot and nine games back of the O's in the AL East. They are a sub-.500 team without Judge and possess one of the most underwhelming offense's in the league when he's not in the lineup.

The trade deadline is Tuesday and the Yankees have four games to improve their standing and convince the front office to be a bit more aggressive with acquisitions. If they can muster up the strength to beat the flailing Mets on Wednesday before Judge's return on Friday, they might suck us right back in to believing.