#Aaron Judge gets back to it with big blast in Yankees return

Even the empty seats at Yankee Stadium watched every move Aaron Judge made late Wednesday afternoon. And what they saw in the first inning of an intrasquad game made them smile.

After being scratched from an intrasquad game on Saturday due to a stiff neck, Judge returned to action and sent the second pitch he saw from James Paxton into the netting above Monument Park.

Judge went 1-for-3 with a walk.

Earlier in the day, manager Aaron Boone said of Judge’s pregame workout went well the right fielder would be in that evening’s lineup.

So, when Judge took ground balls in right field and fielded fly balls hit off the wall, the first step of the process was complete. Judge got through a batting practice session without any problem with his neck.

And there was certainly nothing wrong with it when he launched that homer to center field.

“The plan for him is to play [Wednesday night]. We want to make sure he gets through [the pregame] and hopefully he will be good to go tonight,’’ Boone said before the outing of his right fielder who looked to be ready for Opening Day on July 23 in Washington.

After Judge took a few rounds of batting practice on Tuesday, Boone was confident Judge would be available on Wednesday.

“I think we looked at it [Tuesday] that he was pretty much almost there,’’ Boone said. “He had a good day of work [Tuesday]. Making sure he came in with the necessary improvement.’’

Judge hit second Wednesday between Aaron Hicks and Gleyber Torres. He walked in his second at-bat in the third, also against Paxton, on a full count.

Judge reported to spring training in March with discomfort in his right shoulder, which was later diagnosed as a fractured top right rib and kept him out of exhibition games in Florida.

Had the season not been paused due to the coronavirus that shut down spring training 1.0, Judge wouldn’t have been ready to play by March 26, the original Opening Day. Privately, the Yankees believed it would be June or July before Judge would be ready.

Since Giancarlo Stanton, who also homered off Paxton in the first inning, wouldn’t have been ready for the Orioles on Opening Day due to a strained calf muscle, and Hicks wasn’t expected back from Tommy John surgery until June or July, the original lineup likely would have had Mike Tauchman in right, Clint Frazier in left, Brett Gardner in center and possibly Miguel Andujar as the DH.

So, when spring training 2.0 opened on July 4, Judge had been working out in Tampa and was ready to go.

A stiff neck isn’t cause for alarm but Judge being scratched is a big deal considering his past two seasons have been marred by injuries that cost him significant playing time.

In 2018 Judge played in 112 games due to a right wrist fractured in July. A year ago Judge suffered an oblique strain in April that limited him to 102 games but didn’t interfere with the Yankees winning the AL East.

The injuries have some Yankees followers wondering why the club doesn’t move Judge to first base to keep him healthy. However, Boone said early in the shutdown that the Yankees haven’t discussed such a move because they believe Judge is an elite outfielder.

With a 60-game schedule, nobody knows how this season will play out but getting 50-55 games from Judge would certainly make a strong lineup deeper. Beyond the switch-hitting Hicks, Judge and Torres, Boone has Stanton, Gary Sanchez, Luke Voit, Gardner and Gio Urshela to fill out a lineup card that has more muscle to it with Judge on board.