New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone appeared to partially retract comments he made earlier Tuesday on the state of Aaron Judge’s arm.

The Yankees’ captain and two-time American League MVP returned Aug. 5 from a brief stint on the injured list due to a flexor strain in his right elbow. He has yet to play the outfield since returning, playing only designated hitter, which has made it difficult for the Yankees to start both Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on a given day.

Boone said in a radio interview early Tuesday that he did not know when Judge would be ready to take the field.

“I don’t think we’re going to see him throwing like he normally does at any point this year, but that’s OK,” Boone told WFAN. “We’ve got to feel like he can go out there and protect himself.”

Judge did take part in a long toss before Tuesday’s game at the Tampa Bay Rays and told reporters that the team will “be smart” with his ramp-up, but he admitted he was surprised to hear Boone’s assessment.

“He hasn’t seen me throw the past two weeks,” Judge said. “I’m pretty confident I’ll get back to that.”

When it was Boone’s turn to talk to the media before the game, he explained he may have overstated his stance and gave a more measured explanation.

“Is he going to come back and be a 70-80 arm? I don’t know that I’m expecting that necessarily,” Boone said. “But when we get him back out there, I would expect him to be able to handle it.”

Boone did have Stanton in Tuesday’s lineup at right field, although it may turn out to be a moot point as the game began in a weather delay amid pouring rain. Stanton had not played the field since Sept. 14, 2023, before he started in right field against Houston on Aug. 9.

Stanton, 35, began the season on the injured list with soreness in both elbows and made his season debut in June.

Judge, batting .333 with 39 home runs and 91 RBIs, had multiple extra-base hits for the first time this month on Saturday in St. Louis. He has a total of two home runs in his past 12 games.

–Field Level Media