The New York Yankees activated three-time American League MVP Aaron Judge on Monday night, clearing him to return against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday after more than three months on the injured list with a fractured rib, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported.

Judge, 34, broke his first right rib making a diving catch in late April and tried to play through the injury before the Yankees shut him down on May 31. New York went 45-39 without him and held the American League’s top wild-card spot, but the lineup has ranked 26th in runs scored since he hit the IL — a drought the club hopes his bat will end as the season’s final stretch opens.

Activation followed a live batting-practice session Monday at Yankee Stadium. Judge had told reporters he hoped to take live BP “a couple of times” before coming off the IL; Monday’s work was enough for the Yankees to skip a minor-league rehabilitation assignment and put him back on the big-league roster, Passan wrote.

That tracks Judge’s earlier preference to avoid a rehab stint. In late August he told reporters he did not want to “waste at-bats” in the minors before rejoining the Yankees, arguing his timing should feel “like riding a bike,” per contemporaneous coverage from The Athletic and MLB.com. Manager Aaron Boone had said on Sept. 1 that a return during the Rockies–Mets homestand was “possible,” with durability and workload the remaining hurdles.

Judge’s first at-bat is lined up against Rockies right-hander Gabriel Hughes (0-6, 6.19 ERA). The Yankees open a homestand against Colorado and the Mets while chasing AL East–leading Tampa Bay, which held a four-game lead over New York when Judge was activated.

Before the rib sidelined him, Judge was hitting .248/.375/.533 with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs in 59 games — production the Yankees have lacked for most of the summer as they try to lock down October.

Sources