Yankees’ Aaron Judge (rib) cleared for light activity in ‘great step forward’

NEW YORK — Aaron Judge jogged and stretched on the field at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, marking a significant step in his recovery from a broken rib.

Judge received clearance to begin light activity — including running and upper-body resistance work — after medical scans Tuesday showed progress with his injured rib.

The fracture is not completely healed, Judge said, but it has improved to a point where the Yankees slugger could ramp up his workload.

“It was great,” Judge said after his on-field work. “I’m moving fine, moving great. My biggest thing was I wanted to start testing it a little bit and see what we’ve got, especially after getting some good news, so we can get one step closer.”

Judge, 34, has not appeared in a game since May 31 due to the right rib stress fracture, an injury he believes he suffered while diving in right field more than a month before then.

His timeline to return remains undetermined, but Judge expressed full confidence he will play again in 2026.

“Oh, I’ll be back this season,” Judge said. “I don’t know why I wouldn’t be. That was always the plan, to come back sooner than later. But I never had a thought of not playing this year.”

Earlier this week, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the Yankees were “still very optimistic” that Judge would return, calling it a “pretty high likelihood,” but he didn’t rule anything out.

Judge said he expects to undergo another scan before he can resume hitting and throwing but called Wednesday’s work a “great step forward.”

“It’s more symptom-based now as he starts to introduce things,” manager Aaron Boone said of Judge’s build-up. “The running outside is new, and some of the upper-body resistance stuff he’ll be able to do. Then as he tolerates that, [he will] start moving into baseball activities at some point.”

Judge is hitting .248 with 17 home runs and a .907 OPS in 59 games this season.

The Yankees entered Wednesday’s series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals averaging just under 4.0 runs per game without Judge in the lineup, compared to 5.2 runs per game with him.

“I’ve got a broken rib, so you’re gonna feel it, but it’s healing up,” Judge said. “That’s the progress we want to see so we can start doing some more and kind of testing it and see where we’re at, because we’re running out of days. We’ve got 52 days left, 53 days left, so we’ve got to get back out there.”

Schmidt’s status

Clarke Schmidt is “probably good to go” after the right-hander’s latest live bullpen session was cut short due to what the Yankees suspect was cramping, Boone said.

Schmidt had been scheduled to simulate three innings during Tuesday’s session at Yankee Stadium, but he ended up pitching only two after experiencing discomfort in his forearm.

“He got a lot of treatment yesterday,” Boone said Wednesday. “The doc didn’t seem overly concerned. Today was a no-throw day after his outing yesterday. Expecting him to play catch tomorrow and then hopefully do his side [session] at some point this weekend.”

Schmidt, 30, has now thrown five live bullpen sessions amid his rehab from last summer’s Tommy John surgery.

A full-time starter since 2023, Schmidt could be a factor in the Yankees’ bullpen down the stretch this season, potentially as a versatile, multi-inning weapon.

He pitched to a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts last year.

Bellinger bats

Cody Bellinger took on-field batting at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, marking the first time he’s hit outdoors since suffering a left hamstring strain last month.

Bellinger had resumed hitting in the batting cage a few days earlier, and he also has run — both in a straight line and via agility work — though not yet at full speed.

“I feel pretty good,” Bellinger said. “[With] some motions, [I feel the injury] slightly, but it’s only, what, 12 days? But overall, I’m trending in the right direction.

Bellinger landed on the injured list on July 26, initially carrying a four-to-six week recovery time.

The All-Star left fielder wasn’t sure whether he is trending toward the shorter side of that timeline but said that was “always my goal.”

Bellinger is hitting .259 with 11 home runs and a .770 OPS in 102 games this year.