Aaron Boone says Aaron Judge will be 'full-go' against Jonathan Loaisiga on Sunday

Aaron Judge  already has stood in the batter’s box against live pitching during his ongoing rehab process from a  right big toe sprain suffered on June 3.

Judge stood in against the rehabbing Nestor Cortes last Monday in Anaheim, but he did not swing the bat once. That was by design, as he simply wanted to track pitches.

On Sunday, Judge is poised to take a more significant step. He'll  again get a look at live pitching, this time against the rehabbing Jonathan Loaisiga, and this time the plan is for him to take some swings.

“It’ll be full-go,” Aaron Boone said before Saturday afternoon’s 5-2 victory over the Royals.

Judge, who began taking batting practice outside with his teammates when the Yankees started the second half July 14 in Denver, has been gradually increasing his baseball activities, and the intensity of them, during the last couple of weeks.

Boone said there isn't  necessarily anything specific he’ll be looking for Sunday morning.  

“He’s been hitting a lot, so I don’t expect it to be really eventful other than now starting to turn it on against probably as tough a righty as he’s going to face,” Boone said, referencing Loaisiga, who, when healthy and at his best, throws a high-90s fastball with plenty of movement. “So that’ll be good, and hopefully that’s kind of a springboard to him really starting to get a lot of live at-bats against guys.”  

There remains no timetable, at least one given publicly, for Judge’s return. Pretty much from the time of the original diagnosis, he has said that the last true test for him will be running full-go. He started running the bases in the last week and has not turned it completely loose in that regard, but indications are he could be testing that sooner rather than later.

“You know, it’s not going to be pain-free but as close to manageable as we can [get it],” Judge said Friday. “Progression is going well. We keep getting closer. I felt good running the bases, so hopefully I’m taking another step forward.”

Speaking of Cortes and Loaisiga . . . 

Cortes, out since June 5 with a left rotator cuff strain, is slated to start a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset on Sunday.

“I would imagine he’ll probably be in the low-40s,” Boone said of Cortes’ pitch count.  

Loaisiga, out since April 6 with right elbow inflammation, will throw his second simulated game Wednesday, Boone said, and likely will begin a rehab assignment next weekend.  

Bader in the clear

Harrison Bader, forced from Wednesday’s game in Anaheim with a rib contusion after getting hit in the back by a pitch, did not start Friday or Saturday.  

“He’s doing well,” Boone said before Saturday’s game. “I expect him in there tomorrow [Sunday].”

Bader was inserted for defense in the eighth inning Saturday and singled in his only at-bat in the bottom of the inning.   

Leading man

Billy McKinney, who hit a game-changing three-run homer in Friday night’s 5-4 victory, batted leadoff Saturday and produced, going 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs. It was McKinney’s first game in the leadoff spot since June 6, 2021, while a member of the Mets.

Extra bases

Anthony Rizzo snapped a 0-for-20 skid with a line-drive single in the sixth  and responded by looking up at the heavens and extending his arms. He’s still in a 10-for-73 (.137) stretch . . . Gleyber Torres extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a first-inning single. He has a .380/.389/.540 slash line (19-for-50) in that stretch.