What Yankees must see from Aaron Judge's rehab progress to make dream return timeline a reality

It appears that New York Yankees superstar right fielder Aaron Judge is getting close to his long-awaited return from the injured list. Judge, who hasn't played since May 31 due to a stress fracture in his right rib, traveled with the Yankees on their west coast road trip, where he will begin ramping up baseball activities.

While the Yankees won't put a date on Judge's return, manager Aaron Boone was asked on Monday if the franchise outfielder could be back for the team's next homestand, which starts on September 8.

"I think it's possible," Boone said pregame of Judge's potential return on the next homestand, via MLB.com. "I'm not going to put a date on it, but I think those things are in play now. It's again about getting the durability and the workload built up on him, which is the biggest thing now."

Boxes Aaron Judge still must check before return to Yankees becomes a reality

But Judge must check several more boxes before this return timeline can come to fruition. The 34-year-old recently progressed from pool work and tee-and-toss drills to indoor overhand batting practice. He will still need to face higher velocity in batting practice on the field during pregame workouts in Anaheim and San Diego to be ready for the next homestand.

Judge could also face live pitching on the field if he isn't going to get sent out on a minor league rehab assignment. Judge has been adamant about not needing to go on a rehab assignment before rejoining the Yankees' roster.

For Judge, it's going to come down to getting his timing back at the plate, which he can do against the Trajekt machine and live pitching in batting practice. How he responds to his ramp up over the next week will determine whether he can come off the IL when the team returns to Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees have had one of the worst offenses in all of baseball since Judge landed on the IL on June 2. Surprisingly enough, they have still managed to go 42-37 without him.

The Yankees currently hold the top AL Wild Card spot over the AL East rival Boston Red Sox by three games. However, they won the season series over Boston (7-6), which gives them an extra game advantage by having the tiebreaker.

The Tampa Bay Rays are 4.5 games ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. But if Judge can come back in the next week or so, he could help the Yankees push for the division title in the regular season's final month. It's hard to be confident that will happen until we see him hit on the field, though.

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