Yankees' Aaron Judge plays catch on road to recovery from toe injury

OAKLAND, Calif. — There remains no timetable for Aaron Judge’s return from the right big toe sprain that put him on the injured list June 4.

But the outfielder took a pain-free step — albeit a small one — toward returning Wednesday afternoon, playing catch before that night’s game against the A’s.

“I really didn’t feel too much,” Judge said. “So it was a good sign for me. Looking forward to getting out there tomorrow and playing some more catch.”

Judge, who before Wednesday had not engaged in baseball activities of any kind during his rehab, played catch in the outfield for about 10 minutes with bullpen catcher Collin Theroux.

“I haven’t thrown a baseball since June 3,” Judge said, mentioning the date of his injury, which occurred at Dodger Stadium while making a catch and then crashing through the bullpen door fence in rightfield. “Most important, it was good for me to get out there and just toss it around and get my arm back in shape.”

Judge called playing catch “just another step” in his rehab process, which is still in the early stages.

“I wouldn’t say it’s significant or not significant,” said Judge, who showed up at the ballpark Wednesday and essentially told the team his intent was to do some throwing. “There’s a lot of steps we have to take to get back on the field. This is just another step along the way.”

Aaron Boone used similar phrasing.  

“Definitely good to see him out here, walking out here and playing some catch,” Boone said. “Another step on the road back. It’s been slow- moving, obviously, but at least we continue to see steady progress there.”

Judge said keeping his arm strong is a priority.

“I kind of want to keep my arm in shape so when I do come back, I’m not spending another week trying to get the arm in shape to go play,” Judge said. “Any little thing I can do to shorten the days, I’m trying to do it.”