Yankees' Aaron Boone pours cold water on Aaron Judge return report

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone insisted Wednesday there's still no official timetable for when slugger Aaron Judge will return to the lineup. 

"I wouldn’t rule anything out, but I think we’re taking it day by day and huddling up at the end of the day, seeing what the next steps are," Boone told reporters about Judge on Wednesday afternoon, according to Max Goodman of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "Right now, it’s seeing how he came out of today and how that went, where we’re at and if we need to keep doing more." 

MLB insider Joel Sherman reported for the New York Post earlier on Wednesday that "barring a late setback," the Yankees plan to activate Judge ahead of Friday's series opener at the first-place Baltimore Orioles. Judge is finalizing his recovery at the team's spring training complex in Florida but, according to Sherman, wanted to feature during home games against the New York Mets on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"The Yankees wanted to be more cautious," Sherman explained. 

Meanwhile, Goodman added that "a high-ranking club official confirmed to NJ Advance Media that no firm date has been set for Judge’s return."

Judge last played when he suffered a torn ligament in his big right toe making a highlight-reel catch during what became a 6-3 win at the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 3. The Yankees improved to 35-25 thanks to that victory but have since fallen to 53-48 heading into Wednesday's matchup versus the Mets. The last-place Bronx Bombers entered that contest trailing the Orioles by nine games in the American League East standings, and the Yankees were also two-and-a-half games back in the race for a wild-card spot at that time. 

Judge, the reigning AL Most Valuable Player, earned the fifth All-Star nod of his career earlier this summer and is batting .291 with 19 home runs and 40 RBI with a 1.078 OPS across 49 games this season.