Aaron Judge remains stuck at DH, with Giancarlo Stanton pressed into service in right field again Saturday.
While Aaron Boone said prior to their game against Boston that Judge is making progress with his throwing program as he deals with a right flexor strain, there remains no timeline for his return to the field.
Boone added Judge was “getting close” to beginning throwing to bases, although after Saturday’s 12-1 loss at the Stadium, Judge was asked about when the next step in his throwing program might begin and said, “We’ll see.”
Overall, Judge said he was “feeling great.”
Pressed specifically about the progress he’s made coming back from his elbow injury, Judge said, “Great, getting there.”
The Yankees desperately need Judge back in right.
Stanton has mostly been passable filling in, but the Yankees know they might lose Stanton if they play him there too much.
He was tested often Saturday, especially in a horrific top of the ninth.
“That’s the challenge with him going out there,” Boone said of Stanton, who didn’t make any costly mistakes, but has hardly looked comfortable.
“I thought he made a couple pretty good throws,” Boone said. “You’re gonna live with some limitations out there.”
Stanton has continued to hit, with six homers in his last nine games — including one on Saturday off Garrett Crochet — but the rest of the offense has gone mostly silent against the Red Sox.
The Yankees’ slugger issues go beyond just who plays the outfield.
For all the attention paid to when Judge might get back to right field, he hasn’t been nearly as dominant at the plate after coming off the injured list Aug. 5 as he was prior to the injury.
When Judge landed on the IL, he had an OPS of 1.175 and his slugging percentage was an incredible .711.
Entering Saturday, Judge had played 15 games since the injury and his OPS was .806, with his slugging percentage a pedestrian .412.
Still, when asked if he believed the injury was impacting Judge at the plate, Boone said, “I don’t.”
Judge then hit a ball to the fence in right off Garrett Crochet in the fifth and a 115-mph double to right-center against Greg Weissert in the eighth.
After a rough year-plus with the Mets, Paul Blackburn had a debut to forget for the Yankees on Saturday.
He allowed seven runs in 3 ¹/₃ innings — with all the runs coming in a disastrous ninth.
The right-hander was hurt by some misplays in the field and didn’t do himself any favors by balking in a run.
Blackburn signed with the Yankees after he was released by the Mets after posting a 6.85 ERA in another injury-marred season in Queens.
Fernando Cruz (oblique) is expected to be back in the bullpen either Sunday or Monday, according to Boone. … The bottom of the Yankees order was nonexistent, as the No. 6-9 hitters combined to go 0-for-13 with five strikeouts and a pair of walks, both by José Caballero.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
