Judge hopes to begin taking dry swings soon

NEW YORK -- After receiving a cortisone shot in his right wrist on Tuesday that he says is "definitely" helping, Aaron Judge has a goal of "ramping things up" before the Yankees head to Miami for a two-game series starting Tuesday.
At this point, Judge isn't quite sure what "ramping things up" would mean in just the short amount of time between Thursday and Tuesday, but he said he is hoping that it could include taking dry swings -- meaning with no ball involved -- or playing catch.
Judge said he was hoping that the original estimate of a three-week stint on the disabled list would be accurate, but with Thursday marking three weeks since he was hit on the wrist by a pitch from the Royals' Jakob Junis, it's taking longer to heal than he and the team had expected.
"I'm not frustrated with the pace, I'm frustrated with being out," Judge said. "But the pace, you never know. I got a broken bone, it's still fractured. So [I] got to give it time to heal and I got to make sure I'm 100 percent before I go back out there, because I don't want to have a setback when I come back."
Although Judge has only been able to run on the field and take some swings underwater, he said he's been able to find other ways to help his teammates while remaining patient through this process.
"I just got to keep myself busy during the games," Judge said. "I try to do anything I can to help the team. Even though I'm not out there playing, I want to try to do stuff to help the team win -- if that's either talking to a guy, motivating a guy, saying a little something or picking something up, just trying to keep myself busy."
The slugger said that he is able to grip and hold a bat, but when asked if he feels well enough to start swinging just yet, he answered, "I'd be out there if I was."

Stanton's return to outfield
While Judge tries to progress in his rehab prior to the Yankees' trip to Miami, Giancarlo Stanton has his own goal for the next road trip: get back in the outfield.
Stanton has been limited to designated-hitter duties since Aug. 8 due to tightness in his left hamstring, but with an upcoming series in a National League park, manager Aaron Boone will have to decide whether Stanton is ready to be back in the outfield or will need a few days off.
"We'll see where we are then," Boone said. "We have the off-day going into [the Miami series]. I know he's pretty adamant that he wants to continue to be out there every day. We monitor him closely with how he's getting ready. How he's able to go through his routine, checking in with him postgame every night, so we're just going day by day with him. But obviously he's been sound enough to run out there and be massively productive."
Boone said that the off-days before and after the two-game set against the Marlins could give Stanton a beneficial four-day break if the team decides to stay away from him in Miami.
"The bottom line is if it's at all an issue, that's something we'll absolutely consider," Boone said. "That's kind of conversations that we have every day. Training, strength and conditioning -- Giancarlo is part of those conversations where we're trying to make the best decision for him and for us. And those are things we'll have to weigh as we get closer to that."

Roster move
Prior to Thursday's matinee against the Rays, the Yankees recalled right-hander Tommy Kahnle after optioning Luis Cessa back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following his start on Wednesday.
Kahnle made six appearances at the start of the season before landing on the DL with right shoulder tendinitis on April 16. Since then, the righty has pitched just three times for the Yankees. His last outing was on Aug. 3 against the Red Sox -- his first in the big leagues since May 28 -- when he worked a scoreless eighth inning and recorded one strikeout.
"When we saw him in Boston, I thought he threw the ball great," Boone said. "We saw a real good changeup, the fastball had life at the top of the zone, so hopefully he can come in here and pick up from that outing and give us a quality option."
This date in Yankees history
Aug. 16, 1974: Down, 8-7, with two outs in the bottom of the 13th inning, Bobby Murcer singled to right to bring up Thurman Munson, who went deep off Chicago's Terry Forster for a 9-8 win at Shea Stadium, marking the only "walk-off" homer of Munson's career.