The New York Yankees officially have their captain back.
Aaron Judge was activated off the injured list Friday afternoon after missing over six weeks with a toe injury.
The defending AL MVP was placed on the IL June 6, three days after tearing a ligament in a toe while making a highlight-reel catch against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Judge was injured when his foot rammed the concrete bottom of the outfield wall.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Friday it is a matter of pain tolerance for Judge, and the injury won't get worse.
The Yankees went 18-23 while Judge was on the IL after starting the season 36-25. The Yankees are 30-19 in games Judge plays.
Despite being above .500 at 54-48, they are dead last in the AL East, nine games behind first-place Baltimore, who the Yankees meet in a three-game series this weekend. The Yanks sit 2½ games out of a wild-card spot. With Judge's return and the likelihood they will be trade deadline buyers, the Yankees are still a threat to make the postseason.
Without Judge, the Yankees' .222 average was the second-worst in baseball, their 159 runs were the third-lowest and their .674 OPS was 27th in baseball.
Judge was named an All-Star for the third straight year, but he didn’t travel to Seattle for the festivities to continue his rehab after slashing .291/.404/.674 with a 1.078 OPS, 19 homers and 40 RBI over 49 games to start the year.
Judge signed a nine-year, $360 million contract after his record-breaking 62-home run campaign last year when he also was in the Triple Crown race. It was the most lucrative deal ever for a free agent and the third-biggest contract ever behind Mike Trout's $426.5 million and Mookie Betts' $365 million.
Judge will bat second and DH in his return.
Fox News' Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
