Lack of Aaron Judge timetable may mean Yankees are confirming original fears

Come next week, it will mark a full month since Aaron Judge returned from the injured list due to the flexor strain in his right arm. The New York Yankees activated him on Aug. 5 after he spent the minimum 10 days on the shelf.

It's now been 21 games, and Judge has not played defense. The only significant update we've really gotten since he's returned were the conflicting statements echoed by manager Aaron Boone and Judge. Boone said we likely wouldn't see Judge back to throwing like he normally does this year, and Judge responded that he wasn't sure why Boone would say that since his manager hasn't seen him throw over the course of his rehab.

Since then? Pretty much crickets, outside of Judge being asked about how it felt being unable to play defense during the hotly contested Red Sox series (in which the Yankees lost three out of four games). Judge's response was diplomatic (of course) but revealed nothing in terms of a potential timetable.

And that has Yankees fans coping with the possible reality that the AL MVP frontrunner may not return to playing defense this year, which would be another hit to their already underwhelming World Series chances.

If Boone is forced to keep Judge in the DH spot and give Giancarlo Stanton off days because he can't spend too many consecutive games on his feet, this team gets much worse.

Aaron Judge Injury: What's Yankees star's timetable to return to outfield?

Stanton had to rest during the Red Sox series and the Yankees lost that game 1-0. He rested again during Wednesday's game against the Nationals. The second instance featured a day game after a night game, and the second followed an unexpected appearance on defense in Tampa and a late Thursday game, so it was at least understandable. Still, we just saw him sit for an entire series in St. Louis because his body didn't recover as expected after playing three straight games in right field against the Twins.

The same day Judge made the above comments, he was seen throwing in the outfield during pregame warmups. There's no telling when he could be back in right field, but it seems as if the organization (and Judge) were optimistic about this being a bit more expedited when he initially hit the IL, and it's unclear if we are that much closer to the slugger being able to play both sides of the ball.

On Thursday night, Boone was asked about Judge's continued efforts, but still couldn't provide even the loosest of timetables.

Because we haven't received detailed updates, this could change on a dime. Judge's progress could be quietly improving and we might be approaching good news. But if Boone was so quick to deliver unsettling news a little over a week ago, then why wouldn't the organization be just as diligent in reporting positive updates with something concrete attached?

No injury situation in New York is without its complicated layers, but this one lingering over the fans' heads after a horrible stretch since the beginning of June isn't helping matters one bit.