Base run Aaron Judge takes major step toward recovery from toe injury

Anaheim, California. Aaron Judge added another step to his rehabilitation process on Wednesday afternoon when he walked a base at Angel Stadium.

It was Judge’s first time doing so since rupturing a ligament in his right toe on June 3.

He continues to increase his workload in hopes of returning to the Yankees at some point in the near future.

Manager Aaron Boone said on Wednesday before the Yankees lost 7-3, “I think when you’re down as long as him, that’s an important part of it.” “But I think now, whether it’s a base or even more, he’s able to cut and move, stops and starts, they’re all tied together, especially when we’re dealing with an injury like that.” that befell him.”

Judge, who had been running straight lines in the outfield before Wednesday, also continued taking batting practice before the game against the Angels.

While the Yankees hope to get Judge back as soon as possible, they also want to make sure he’s not pushing himself to complete each phase more quickly than he should.

Boone said, “That’s the biggest thing.” “Because of the injury, they don’t want him to do it – eventually the pain threshold has to be lower. So it is doing things that it can tolerate. The fact that he’s able to run the bases and do these different things is important. If it becomes painful enough that’s when you’ve gotten into the danger zone of hurting yourself more.

“I know the doctors don’t want him to — if it’s really painful, it’s probably not a good thing to pursue.”

Shortly after becoming the Yankees’ first-round draft pick the previous week, George Lombard Jr. Got a message from Anthony Volpe. Four years earlier, Volpe was in the same position as Lombard, a high school shortstop who had earned a scholarship to Vanderbilt, to sign with the Yankees as a first-rounder.

“It was really amazing,” Lombard said on a Zoom call from Tampa of her first days as part of the organization. ,[Volpe] Just reached out to congratulate me. Basically, a few years ago he was in the same shoes I wear now. So he has that experience. So just let me know if I ever need anything, just hit it up and it’ll be there. I was very grateful for that. It was very special for him to do this and I will not forget about him.

Lombard, who said he modeled his game against Corey Seager of the Rangers, indicated that signing with the Yankees was “a bit of a fluke”.

“The Yankees, with the organization and how special the organization is, lined up perfectly,” Lombard said.

Anthony Rizzo was left out of the lineup on Wednesday, with Boone looking to give him a day off during a rough stretch. The veteran first baseman hadn’t hit a home run since May 20 (a 43-game span) and was batting just .156 with a .471 OPS in his last 36 games.

But Boone didn’t expect Rizzo’s absence to last more than a day.

“We’ll talk, but I expect he’ll probably be back on Friday,” Boone said.

Nestor Cortes (rotator cuff strain) is scheduled to start rehab work Sunday, likely with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. This will likely be the first of three rehab starts before returning to the Yankees.