Reinforcements are near for the New York Yankees.
Manager Aaron Boone could have left-handed ace Max Fried back in the rotation by the trade deadline and Aaron Judge might not be far behind.
Fried was the starter Friday night for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, his first in-game action since he was placed on the injured list with a bone bruise after an outing May 13.
Fried was on a pitch count “in the low 50s” on Friday, Boone said. He’s already scheduled for at least one more start at Triple-A next week before the Yankees reassess his status.
There is less clarity around the return of Judge (rib) and another big bat, Giancarlo Stanton, who has resumed running but has no timetable for advancing to baseball workouts.
Judge was told to pause riding a stationary bike but has the green light to walk on a treadmill with a slight incline. He’s not ready to take batting practice or resume even stationary baseball activities.
He said Friday the latest imaging of his fractured rib on his right side showed “some improvement,” but he isn’t cleared for workouts due to the risk of re-injury.
“We’re not there yet. We’ll just continue to wait, let it heal,” Boone said. “I feel good about the fact that he’ll be back. It’s just a matter of when.
“Obviously we all want Aaron Judge back in the lineup. As I’ve said we have a lot of capable players. We finished the (first) half on a high note. We have to continue to play well and hopefully win ballgames knowing that at some point he’ll join us.”
Judge, a three-time American League MVP, has 17 homers and 38 RBIs in 59 games.
Sidelined since April 24 when Stanton hurt his calf against the Houston Astros, he’s not expected to be in the lineup this week. He has played only 24 games this season with three homers and 14 RBI. His current injured list stint is his seventh since joining the Yankees ahead of the 2018 season.
Boone said the Yankees are being patient with two other injured arms. Left-hander Carlos Rodon threw a 10-pitch bullpen session on Friday to provide the Yankees a live check of his progress recovering from inflammation in his left elbow.
Right-hander Clarke Schmidt is a potential discussion for August, Boone said. He’s recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. The Yankees scheduled Schmidt to throw against live hitting for the first time since the 2025 elbow surgery.
