Aaron Judge adds long-tossing to tests of his injured toe

ST. LOUIS — Aaron Judge isn’t yet at the point of testing his sprained right big toe hitting or running, but he took another small step in that direction Friday.

Judge played catch in the outfield for a third straight day with bullpen catcher Collin Theroux, extending beyond 120 feet at one point for the first time in the process.

“Today, it was good to see him out there really long-tossing and getting into the throws a little bit,” Aaron Boone said before his team was slated to open a three-game series against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium (rain was in the forecast for the entire night and the tarp was pulled on the field about an hour before the local scheduled first-pitch time of 7:15 p.m.). “I know he’s doing better but I don’t know what the plans are as far doing [more] stuff.”

Judge was placed on the injured list June 4, a day after crashing into and then through the bullpen fence in rightfield at Dodger Stadium while making a running catch of a long drive by J.D. Martinez. He’s had two PRP injections in the toe and has slowly been testing it since.

After playing catch Wednesday in Oakland for the first time during his rehab, Judge of his toe’s reaction to the short session [about 10 minutes]: “I really didn’t feel too much. So it was a good sign for me.”

Judge, who was voted into this year’s All-Star Game in Seattle but won’t be able to play because of the injury, has said the most significant step for him will be when he’s cleared to run. But there remains no public or private timetable for him to return, so it is unclear just how close he is to taking that step.

“I wouldn’t say it’s significant or not significant,” Judge said of starting to play catch. “There’s a lot of steps we have to take to get back on the field. This is just another step along the way.”

Bader returns

Centerfielder Harrison Bader, a Cardinal from 2017 until last year’s trade deadline, when the Yankees acquired him in exchange for Jordan Montgomery, prepared to face the team that made him its third-round draft pick in 2015.

“I’m sure I’ll see some familiar faces on the field that I’m not used to [seeing] being in a different uniform,” Bader said. “It’ll definitely be strange, but I’ll get over it quickly. That’s what professionals do. You go out there and dive into the competition and see how it shakes out.”

Montgomery, 5-7 but with a 3.52 ERA this season for the disappointing Cardinals (33-47 entering Friday), will face his former team on Sunday.