Aaron Judge returns to the lineup at DH as the Yankees wait for clarity on his throwing arm

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aaron Judge was back in the lineup as the designated hitter for the New York Yankees on Tuesday night following a 10-day stint on the injured list with a flexor tendon strain in his right elbow.

There's still no clarity on when the All-Star slugger will return to the outfield.

Judge went 0 for 3 batting third in a 2-0 loss to the Texas Rangers. Manager Aaron Boone said Judge is supposed to start a throwing program Wednesday.

Boone all but ruled out Judge returning to the outfield as early as the next couple of days.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself,” Boone said. “See how that first day goes. From there, we’ll probably have a better idea after a day or two of that.”

Asked how long he thought the first throwing program would last, Judge said, “No idea. But we’ll see how it goes tomorrow and hopefully I can get out there. Because we need all the big boys in the lineup.”

Boone said the leading hitter in the majors came away from a trip to the team's spring training facility in Tampa, Florida, ready to swing the bat — and test the capabilities of his arm.

“I think he’s been pretty upbeat about it,” Boone said. “I think down in Tampa, did a lot of things. Didn’t throw, but did a lot of things in kind of preparation for that throwing. So far, so good. So hopefully when he does start that throwing program, it goes well and he can progress fairly quickly.”

Judge played for the first time since July 25 coming off the elbow strain. An MRI showed no acute damage to his ulnar collateral ligament and he had a platelet-rich injection July 27, when he was placed on the IL in a move retroactive to the previous day. The first time Judge said he felt pain in the elbow was July 22 at Toronto, after he made a strong throw home when George Springer singled to right.

Judge is hitting .339, still comfortably leading the majors, is tied for fourth with 37 homers and is fifth with 85 RBIs.

New York has lost five in a row, and the Yankees have fallen to third place in the AL East behind Toronto and Boston. They were in first place to start July, but are six games behind the Blue Jays. They hold the second wild-card spot but are just a half-game ahead of the Rangers, who have spent most of the season under .500.

“We’ve got some work to do,” Judge said. “A lot of things to clean up. But the boys in here are fired up to change all that and get things right. We’ve got a great ballclub in here. It’s a lot of mistakes all around. Some mental mistakes, some physical mistakes. We’ve got to fix them now.”

Judge's return was part of a bevy of roster moves, headlined by the Yankees sending reliever Jake Bird to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre just five days after acquiring the right-hander from Colorado before the trade deadline.

Bird allowed seven runs — six earned — in two innings over his first three appearances with the Yankees, capped by Josh Jung's three-run homer in the 10th inning of the Rangers' 8-5 victory in the series opener.

“I think he got quite a bit of work there in the first half, a lot of success,” Boone said. “And he’s had some struggles lately. We still think really highly of him and think he’s not only going to help us this year in the short term but certainly in the long term, too. So hopefully this is something that does give him that little bit of a reset.”

The Yankees put newly acquired outfielder Austin Slater on the IL with a left hamstring strain. Slater, traded by the Chicago White Sox last week, exited in the second inning Monday night after running out a fielder’s choice grounder.

New York also activated right-hander Mark Leiter Jr., who has been out almost a month with a stress fracture in his leg. Right-hander Yerry de los Santos was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and right-hander JT Brubaker was designated for assignment.

Giancarlo Stanton, who has been the Yankees’ starting DH for all of his 32 games this season, was displaced by Judge in the lineup. His 10th homer was a two-run shot in the fourth Monday that gave the Yankees a 5-4 lead over the Rangers. He missed the first 70 games of the season with inflammation in the tendons of both elbows.

Stanton was the potential tying run as a pinch-hitter in the ninth Tuesday night, but grounded into a double play started by a diving stop from Texas shortstop Corey Seager.

“That’s the tough part,” Boone said before the game. “G’s been in such a good place now for really most of the time he’s been back. Just feel like he’s putting together real consistent at-bats where he’s a real threat all the time. That’ll be tough to navigate these first few days.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, left, warms up before a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge chats with fans before a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge bunts during batting practice before a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge reacts to striking out during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, left, warms up before a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge chats with fans before a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge bunts during batting practice before a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed at another record on Wall Street Tuesday following a surprisingly strong report on economic growth over the summer.

The U.S. government's first assessment of economic growth during the third quarter also showed that inflation remains high. A separate report showed that consumer confidence continued fading in December. All of it added to a complicated picture of the economy.

The latest record for the S&P 500 came even as most stocks within the benchmark index lost ground. Technology stocks, which have been main force pushing major indexes to records all year, once again were able to counter weakness elsewhere in the market.

The S&P 500 rose 31.30 points, or 0.5%, to 6,909.79, surpassing the record set earlier in December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 79.73 points, or 0.2%, to 48,442.41. The Nasdaq composite rose 133.02 points, or 0.6%, to 23,561.84.

Nvidia jumped 3% and was biggest force helping to push the market higher. It is among several big tech companies with outsized valuations that tend to have more impact on the broader market’s direction. Google's parent company, Alphabet, rose 1.5%.

Novo Nordisk jumped 7.3% after U.S. regulators approved a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity.

Wall Street received the latest economic updates during an otherwise quiet holiday-shortened week. Markets in the U.S. will close early Wednesday for Christmas Eve and remain closed for Christmas on Thursday.

The U.S. economy grew at a 4.3% annual rate during the third quarter. That builds on 3.8% growth during the second quarter and marks a sharp turnaround from the first quarter, when the U.S. economy shrank for the first time in three years.

The latest report also showed that stubborn inflation continues to hover over the economy. The Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge — called the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — climbed to a 2.8% annual pace last quarter, up from 2.1% in the second quarter.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.16% from 4.15% just before the report on gross domestic product for the third quarter was released. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed actions, rose to 3.53% from 3.49% just prior to the report’s release.

The Fed has been taking a more cautious policy approach amid mixed signals from the economy. Economic growth has been occurring at the same time that inflation remains stubbornly above the central bank's 2% target. The job market is also slowing, adding another layer of concern to whether the central bank should continue cutting interest rates.

On Wednesday, the Labor Department will release its weekly data on applications for jobless benefits, which stands as a proxy for U.S. layoffs.

“The Fed has been balancing off inflation risks versus weakening labor markets and today’s report further complicates their dilemma,” wrote Dominic Pappalardo, chief multi-asset strategist at Morningstar Wealth, in a note to investors.

The Fed has cut interest rates three times in 2025 and the central bank's rate-setting committee is divided about additional rate cuts in 2026. The committee members, at their last meeting, projected a wide range of possibilities from holding rates steady to two or more reductions.

Wall Street expects the Fed to hold rates steady at its upcoming meeting in January.

Consumer spending and confidence has been shaky amid worries about high prices, especially with a wide-ranging U.S. trade war that could drive prices for many goods even higher.

The latest update from business group The Conference Board showed that consumer confidence fell in December to its lowest level since tariffs were rolled out in April. Meanwhile, retail sales have been weakening, with consumers growing more cautious.

Consumers have become more targeted in their buying during the holiday shopping season, according to Visa's Consulting and Analytics division. From Nov. 1 through Sunday, cash and credit card sales rose 4.2%, which is less than the 4.8% increase during the same period a year ago.

Markets were mixed in Asia and Europe.

The price of gold continued rising. It rose 0.8% to $4,505.70 per ounce Tuesday and is up about 70% for the year.

Oil prices were relatively stable after jumping a day prior. U.S. benchmark crude rose 0.6% to $58.38 per barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 0.5% to $62.38 a barrel.

Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Anthony Matesic works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Trader Jonathan Mueller works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader William Lawrence works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Walmart is displayed on the facade of the Nasdaq MarketSite, in New York, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A dealer works near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing the market indexes of Shanghai, Tokyo and New York Dow at a securities firm Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A dealer watches computer monitors at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)