MLB

Yankees aren’t getting the news they wanted on Aaron Judge

It’s been clear for a while Aaron Judge wouldn’t be back in the lineup anywhere close to the three-week window the Yankees had hoped when he fractured his right wrist July 26.

The right fielder still can’t swing a bat and the three-week mark passed last week.

After Sunday’s 10-2 win over Toronto, Judge said it would take four to six weeks for the fracture to heal.

“It’s still fractured,” said Judge, who had the wrist wrapped and had a cortisone shot last week in an attempt to hasten the recovery. “There is still a little bit of pain in there, but that’s what we are trying to get past right now. It takes about four to six weeks for stuff like that to heal so wait for that six weeks.’’

Shane Robinson continued to flounder as a right-handed fill-in for Judge with another hitless afternoon.

The Yankees’ catching situation is looking slightly better, health-wise, with Austin Romine avoiding a concussion from the foul ball that smacked his facemask Saturday.

He should be ready to be in the lineup Tuesday in Miami after sitting out Sunday.

And Gary Sanchez, who has been on the disabled list since July 24 with a groin strain, headed to Tampa on Sunday, where he could play in a rehab game this week — although he added he didn’t have a date in mind for when he might be back in the Yankees’ lineup.

“Everything feels good right now,’’ Sanchez said through an interpreter after taking batting practice and going through defensive drills Sunday morning. “I think I’m right on track.”

This is the second time Sanchez is coming back from the same injury and the catcher said again he’s not overly concerned about another setback.

“I’m not thinking about it at all,’’ Sanchez said. “There’s no way you can play if you’re thinking about it. I’m going to run as hard as I can and hit as hard as I can. If you think about it, it prevents you from playing the way you want to play.”

Not much of the season has gone the way Sanchez has wanted, with both injuries and a lack of production nagging him.

“Definitely, the year hasn’t been what I expected,” Sanchez said. “But you can’t think too much about all that stuff. All that happened in the past. We still have a full month [left] of the regular season. I’m looking forward to contributing that month to the team and doing the best I can.”

Kyle Higashioka filled in behind the plate Sunday and Romine was pleased his injury wasn’t worse after passing the concussion tests.

His biggest issue was a bruised chin.

“I’m kind of amazed,’’ Romine said. “The ball hit me good.”

He said he didn’t want to come out of Saturday’s game after finishing the inning following an exam from trainer Steve Donohue.

“He asked me all the questions and said, ‘Maybe you should come out,’ ’’ Romine said. “I fought him a lot, but I understood afterwards they were being cautious. They basically told me, ‘You’re not playing anymore.’ ”


Clint Frazier (concussion symptoms) remains in Tampa. Aaron Boone said the outfielder has been hitting and running outside in the last few days. … The six runs the Yankees scored in the first were their most in the first inning since Sept. 14, 2017, when they scored six against the Orioles. They also scored double-digit runs in consecutive games for the first time this season.


Sonny Gray loaded the bases in the ninth, but got out of it without a run scoring in his fourth appearance out of the bullpen since being removed from the rotation. … CC Sabathia — on the DL with right knee inflammation — said he would throw a bullpen session Tuesday and expects to pitch in Baltimore.

Additional reporting by Fred Kerber and Kevin Kernan