Aaron Judge activated from 60-day injured list by New York Yankees

NEW YORK (AP) — After missing more than three months, Aaron Judge is ready to return to the New York Yankees.

The three-time MVP was reinstated from the 60-day injured list Monday night, an off day for the Yankees. They open a three-game series at home Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies.

Judge hasn't played since May 31 because of a broken right rib, but the slugger traveled with the Yankees on their recent trip to the West Coast. He took batting practice on the field multiple times last weekend in San Diego and ran the bases as he worked toward his return.

The 34-year-old outfielder will rejoin New York's active roster without going on a minor league rehab assignment first. Throughout his absence, Judge said he wouldn't need a stint in the minors to get ready.

“If I tell them I’m ready to go play, I think we’re ready to go play,” Judge said on Aug. 27. “I’m not a pitcher. I’m a position player. I can get my reps down here in the cage. I’m in every game. I’m sitting there in the dugout watching every game, feeling the environment, feeling the energy, so I don’t think there’s going to be much of a difference.”

With 19 games remaining in the regular season, the Yankees (81-62) trail first-place Tampa Bay by four games in the AL East. They are two games ahead of rival Boston (80-65) for the top American League wild card and hold a potential tiebreaker between the teams after winning the season series.

The higher seed plays at home throughout every best-of-three Wild Card Series.

New York was 36-23 after Judge last played on May 31 and went 45-39 in the 84 games he missed since.

The offense, however, was obviously affected. The Yankees batted .243 with 86 homers in 59 games through May 31 but hit only .227 with 107 homers in 84 games while Judge was out.

Their batting average during that stretch ranked 29th among the 30 major league teams, ahead of only Seattle (.225).

New York had a .770 OPS through May 31, but it was .681 in his absence.

Judge is hitting .248 with 17 homers and 38 RBIs. He was initially injured attempting to avoid second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a diving catch in Houston on April 26 and batted .263 with seven homers and 20 RBIs in 31 games before being sidelined.

The captain's only homer in the final 18 games before he went on the injured list was a game-ending, two-run shot to beat Tampa Bay 2-0 on May 24 that snapped an 11-game drought without an RBI, the longest of his career.

Judge won a batting title last season when he hit a career-high .331 with 53 homers and 114 RBIs in 152 games. He missed 10 games from July 26 to Aug. 4 with a flexor strain in his right elbow that he sustained on a throw to home plate July 22 in Toronto. He underwent a plasma-rich platelet injection and did not require offseason surgery.

Judge skipped a rehab assignment in 2023 when he missed 42 games with a fractured right big toe after crashing into the right-field fence at Dodger Stadium. In 2019, he appeared in five minor league games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when he missed two months with a strained left oblique.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Judge, right-hander Chase Hampton was designated for assignment Monday night.

New York optioned right-hander Elmer Rodríguez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Sunday's loss in San Diego.

This story has been corrected to show Judge is 34 years old, not 35.

AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.

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New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, right, gives autographs to fans before a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday}, Aug. 31, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge talks to third base/outfield coach Luis Rojas before a baseball game against the Houston Astros Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Yankees' Ben Rice, left, Spencer Jones, center, and Aaron Judge, right, lean on the dugout rail in the first inning during a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge smiles towards fans during a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

TOMARATA, New Zealand (AP) — Fifa Laopakdee of Thailand became the second player to win back-to-back in the Asia-Pacific Amateur with another Sunday comeback, this time without having to win in a playoff. He closed with a 1-under 70 for a three-shot victory.

That sends Laopakdee back to Augusta National in April for the Masters, along with a return trip to the British Open next summer at St. Andrews.

The 21-year-old Thai said he exchanged phone numbers at the last Masters with Justin Rose, who promised him a practice round if Laopakdee made it back.

“Rosey, see you at a practice round for the Masters,” Laopakdee said with a wide smile.

Laopakdee, three shots behind with 10 holes to play at Te Arai Links, flipped the script in one hole when he hit his approach just over the false front to 7 feet for a birdie on No. 11, and Zack Swanwick of New Zealand shockingly took a triple bogey.

That four-shot swing took Laopakdee form a two-shot deficit to a two-shot lead, and the Arizona State senior didn't give Swanwick much of a chance to catch him.

Laopakdee effectively ended it with a wedge to 4 feet on the par-3 17th for one final birdie, stretching his lead to four shots. Swanwick, who began the final round with a two-shot lead over Laopakdee and Cooper Moore, didn't make a birdie until the par-5 closing hole. He shot 75.

Laopakdee joined Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama as the only players to win consecutive years since the Asia-Pacific Amateur began in 2009.

He repeatedly shook his fists when he tapped in for par on the 18th to finish at 6-under 278 at the wind-blown seaside course about an hour north of Auckland.

It was a tough ending for Swanwick, trying to become the first Kiwi to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur in front of a home crowd, in a year when New Zealand celebrated another major champion in Ryan Fox at Royal Birkdale.

Swanwick, a junior at Florida, had a two-shot lead going to the 11th hole when his 6-iron was a little strong and went into a back bunker. His shot came out a fraction too strong, rolled past the pin and then off the false front into a deep swale. His chip-and-run up the slope came back to his feet. The next chip barely stayed on the green and he missed then 8-foot putt to take triple bogey.

“Middle of the green, make par and get out of there,” Swanwick said. “I hit into the bunker, just flew the bunker shot a little too far and got a little too cute with the chip. Just had a few mistakes that cost me.”

Swanwick looked he might get it back on the par-5 13th into the wind. His second shot came up short and he pitched to 10 feet for a chance at birdie. Laopakdee drove into a sandy area, and only advanced the ball some 40 yards into more sand. He laid up, then hit wedge to 20 feet.

Laopakdee rolled in the long par putt, and Swanwick missed his birdie. Instead of a chance to tie for the lead, the Kiwi was still two behind. And on the short par-4 14th, Swanwick drilled driver onto the green, some 70 feet away. He rolled a putt over the ridge to about 8 feet, missed the birdie putt and the missed the 4-foot par putt. The four-putt bogey sent him three behind.

“It was tough luck for Zack on 11, it was super windy,” Laopakdee said. “I somehow hit a great second shot and made birdie and it created huge momentum for me.”

Kayun Mudadana of Australia closed with a 67 and finished alone in third at 2-under 282. Moore birdied the last hole for 75 and was another shot back. Only four players finished under par.

A year ago in Dubai, Laopakdee rallied from a six-shot deficit in the final round and won the Asia-Pacific on the third playoff hole.

Laopakdee, at No. 31 in the world amateur ranking, won the Desimone Invitational in early March at Lake Merced in San Francisco. But the rest of the year was a disappointment until Sunday.

“This is one of the last events of the year, and I wanted to prove to myself that I've still got it,” he said. “To pull it off, it means the whole world to me.”

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FILE -Fifa Laopakdee, of Thailand, walks to green on the second hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)