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The Yankees won 94 games — and nearly the AL East — last season without any contribution from ace Gerrit Cole.
What nearly derailed 2025 in The Bronx, rather, was the right elbow flexor strain that Aaron Judge suffered in late July.
So the fact Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Judge was “doing really well” in his throwing program as he prepares to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic may have been the most important news that came out of Wednesday’s Zoom call with Yankees hierarchy.
“He has ramped up his throwing program a little bit more because he’s ready for the WBC,” Boone said. “He’s ahead of the game, more so than he normally is, from a throwing standpoint. … He feels ready to go right away in camp.”
Asked if there was any concern Judge could be at risk, Boone said, “No, he looks great.”
As the Yankees know all too well, it was Judge’s toe injury in 2023 that played a huge factor in them missing the postseason for the only time in Judge’s career.
With the elbow injury a year ago, Judge returned to the lineup after a brief IL stint, but wasn’t able to play right field regularly until mid-September and then was a force the rest of the way, including in the postseason.
Anthony Volpe’s rehab from the partially torn labrum in his left shoulder is “going well” according to general manager Brian Cashman, although he declined to place a timeline on the shortstop’s return.
Earlier in the offseason, Cashman said Volpe could begin hitting by mid-February and be back in April or May at the latest, with the expectation that José Caballero would fill in at short until Volpe returns.
“He’s here [in Tampa], working his tail off with a smile on his face, fully committed,’’ Cashman said. “We look forward to him rejoining us at some point at shortstop, sooner than later.”
Whenever Volpe does get back, he’ll be under the microscope again, coming off an inconsistent season in which he had another subpar season at the plate — although that could have been attributed in some part to the shoulder, which Volpe initially injured in May.
And his defense has also gone backward after Volpe won a Gold Glove as a rookie in 2024.
Cody Bellinger said he would be interested in representing Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, but not this year, just coming out of free agency.
