Aaron Judge set to rejoin Yankees lineup against Rangers after elbow injury

Not a day too soon, the Yankees are about to get a 6-foot-7, 282-pound boost to their lineup.

Aaron Judge arrived in Texas on Monday night and will be activated off the injured list Tuesday, the first day he is eligible, after missing 10 days with a right flexor strain in his elbow.

The slugger spent Sunday and Monday morning taking about 20 live at-bats at the Yankees’ minor league facility in Tampa in preparation for his return to the lineup.

“It’s Aaron Judge,” manager Aaron Boone said at Globe Life Field before a crushing 8-5, 10-inning loss to the Rangers. “We know what he means to our lineup, to the guys in the room. So to get him back, we’re certainly excited about that. Hopefully shortly thereafter, he’s back out in the field, too.”

Aaron Judge during live batting practice.

Judge will strictly DH upon his immediate return, but he is expected to begin a throwing program Tuesday or Wednesday after shutting down his arm when he landed on the IL.

Once he does begin throwing — something he was having trouble doing the last time he played a game July 25 — the Yankees will start to have a better idea of how long it will be before he returns to right field.

“His arm will tell him,” Boone said.

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge takes live batting practice before the start of his teams game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, USA, Thursday, July 31, 2025.

Until that happens, Giancarlo Stanton, who had a two-run homer in Monday’s loss, essentially will become a bench bat.

Boone keeps leaving the door open for Stanton to play the outfield for the first time since 2023, but it would be a bit of a surprise if he actually gets there, given his extensive history of leg injuries and the elbow tendinitis he is playing through this season.

At the very least, Boone said Stanton would not play the outfield during this series on turf against the Rangers but insisted he could be in play for right field once the club returns home to Yankee Stadium on Friday.

New York Yankees Aaron Judge greets celebrates with New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe after the final out of the 9th inning.

Since Judge landed on the IL, Stanton has gotten sporadic, light pregame work in the outfield but nothing that would suggest he is on the verge of playing there.

If Judge’s throwing program does not go well and he has to DH for the foreseeable future, perhaps Stanton in the field becomes more realistic, but the Yankees have not yet crossed that bridge.

“We’ll see,” Boone said. “I’m not ruling out him being in the field when we get back [home], but I probably would not do it here.”

In the interim, the Yankees likely will continue with an outfield of Jasson Domínguez in left, Trent Grisham in center and Cody Bellinger in right on most days — though on Monday, they had Austin Slater in left and Amed Rosario in right, stacking their lineup with right-handed bats against Rangers lefty Patrick Corbin.

Following Monday’s series-opening loss, the Yankees are 4-6 since Judge last played, scoring just under five runs per game in that stretch.

His absence may have been most felt in the final two games against the Marlins while getting swept over the weekend, as the Yankees scored just three runs on eight hits while getting shut down by both of Miami’s starters, Eury Pérez and Edward Cabrera.

Yankees Paul Goldschmidt and New York Yankees Aaron Judge on the dugout fence during the fourth inning in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, USA, Wednesday, July 30, 2025.

Before getting hurt, Judge was likely on his way to another AL MVP, batting .342 with 37 home runs and a 1.160 OPS.

He also was playing a strong right field, though that part of his game will be shelved for at least the time being.

Judge will be returning to a reeling club that has played sub-.500 ball for over two months, well before he got hurt.

So while his presence alone should give them a jolt, it also will not be a cure-all for what has ailed for an extended period.