Yankees finally get the kind of news that could change their October outlook

BALTIMORE — The New York Yankees picked up a game on the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East on Tuesday night, but nothing was more important than what was said before first pitch. If the Yankees are to win the World Series, this bit of pregame news could well be the main reason why.

Aaron Judge has been cleared to start his hitting progression this week. Judge has spent the last few days working on upper-body workouts in the pool, playing catch and running. The last step before making it back to the big leagues is ramping up his hitting.

“It’s all part of the process that hopefully goes well,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But the fact that he’s responded (well) in his first week of added intensity, as far as being allowed to do some things upper-body-wise, is all part of his build-up.”

It’s unclear how much time Judge, who has been sidelined with a stress fracture in his right first rib, will need to feel ready for game action. But in Toronto this past weekend, Boone said it’s possible that he could return in a month. The more time Judge gets to regain his timing at the plate before the postseason, the better it is for the Yankees.

Giancarlo Stanton, who has been out since late April, is “toward the end of his running program,” Boone said, and is responding well to the added intensity. Stanton was spotted last week at Yankee Stadium running the bases and doing agility drills in the outfield. Boone did not have a timeline on when Stanton might return, but this is as close as he’s been to getting back on the field since he initially strained his calf.

Without their two sluggers in the middle of the order, the Yankees’ offense has been in the gutter. Even in a 3-1 win over the Orioles on Tuesday, the offense looked the same as it’s been for months.

Orioles starter Shane Baz struck out a season-high 10 batters, and the Yankees had just five hits. All of them came from three of the four Yankees who have been above league average by wRC+ since June 1: Trent Grisham, Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr., who has only played 12 games. Ben Rice is the only other Yankee with an above-average wRC+, but he’s been one of the worst hitters in MLB since the All-Star break.

Since April 25, the day after Stanton injured his calf, the Yankees have the 20th-best offense in the sport. Of the current American League postseason teams, only the below .500 Toronto Blue Jays have been worse.

“I see the talent that’s in the room,” Cody Bellinger said. “I go up and down the lineup, and I believe that it’s still really talented to win a lot of games. I think watching it is very frustrating, and (you) always remember how hard the game really is.”

Bellinger is potentially days away from returning to the lineup after straining his hamstring last month, and will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday. The Yankees have not decided if he’ll need more than one rehab game, but getting Bellinger back could lessen Heliot Ramos’ plate appearances against right-handed pitching.

Even with the Yankees’ three highest-paid position players all sidelined, the club has continued finding ways to win thanks to the dominance of the pitching staff.

Carlos Rodón returned from a two-month absence due to elbow inflammation and held the Orioles to one run over four innings on 66 pitches. Rodón’s first start back came one day after the Yankees placed Max Fried on the 15-day injured list with a left bone bruise. But the Yankees are hopeful that Fried may not miss much time at all. He underwent an MRI, which showed low-grade inflammation. Fried missed over two months earlier in the season with the same injury, but this is less severe.

“I think we feel pretty good about it overall,” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said. “Just trying to get out in front of it more than anything. There was still talk of him pitching this turn, but just knowing what we have on the line and where we want to go — just seemed like erring on the side of caution here and get ahead of it.”

If the inflammation subsides, it’s possible that Fried could miss the minimum amount of time, Boone said. But the Yankees have been optimistic on injury timelines all season, only for that to backfire. Still, it does seem like the Yankees did dodge a potential catastrophic injury to one of their most important players.

The Yankees may be struggling to find ways to win every night, but their postseason outlook could look dramatically different if their injured stars return on schedule.