Yankees reveal when Aaron Judge will return to full strength

Heading into the final two weeks of the 2026 MLB season, the New York Yankees have a lot to play for. As it stands now, the club is 86-63 and second place in the American League East. They are four games behind the Tampa Bay Rays .

In the Wild Card standings, the Yankees own the top spot by four and a half games over the Boston Red Sox . If the season ended today, the latter would travel to the former for a best-of-three at Yankee Stadium.

New York is in this position despite being without their superstar outfielder Aaron Judge for more than half the year. He missed 84 games with a broken rib, going from May 31 to Sept. 8 without playing.

Sep 9, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) singles during the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)

The 34-year-old has played in 64 games this year, slashing .242/.365/.506 (.871 OPS) with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs. After two straight seasons with an OPS well above 1.100, this has been quite the difference even if the numbers are still excellent.

Judge returned from the 60-day injured list last Tuesday, and has played in five games since. Across 18 plate appearances, the Yankee captain has produced a .398 OPS with a 50% strikeout rate.

His time has been slightly restricted, as he did sit a game and was pulled in two others early. Greg Joyce of the New York Post reported Monday that the slugger will get an off day Wednesday before returning to play everyday on Friday.

The Yankees have four series left to play, equaling 13 games. First, they travel to the Minnesota Twins for three. Then, they are in the desert squaring off with the Arizona Diamondbacks in what could be a tough series.

Upon their return home, they will get the Rays for a huge four-game series in the Bronx. That will have major AL postseason seeding implications. To wrap up the year, they will play three against the Baltimore Orioles .

Manager Aaron Boone said Judge will have off Wednesday of the Twins series before returning to full-time play this Friday at Arizona. Even though his post-IL numbers have been lackluster so far, he should be ramped up well for the postseason.