SAN DIEGO — With the Yankees at Petco Park for the start of a three-game series against the Padres, Aaron Judge took on-field batting practice on Friday afternoon. It was the back-to-back MVP’s first time hitting in front of fans and reporters since going on the injured list with a stress fracture in his first right rib on June 5. “Checking all the boxes. That’s all it is at this point,” Judge ...

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees looks on during a game against the Atlanta Braves at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 9, 2026, in New York.

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America/TNS

SAN DIEGO — With the Yankees at Petco Park for the start of a three-game series against the Padres, Aaron Judge took on-field batting practice on Friday afternoon. It was the back-to-back MVP’s first time hitting in front of fans and reporters since going on the injured list with a stress fracture in his first right rib on June 5.

“Checking all the boxes. That’s all it is at this point,” Judge said, as he’s already taken batting practice and hit off velocity indoors since ramping up his hitting progression.

Judge also ran the bases and worked in the outfield on Friday, and Aaron Boone said that the slugger would be doing “full” baseball activities this week. The manager added that the Yankees still don’t have a set date for Judge’s return, though Boone recently said “it’s possible” that the captain is activated on the club’s upcoming homestand against the Rockies and Mets.

Judge didn’t provide a specific date either, but he did say he’s “mad at how long it’s taken” to get back, and that he’s “getting close.”

“I wanted to be back June 1, but that didn’t happen,” he said. “So I’ll leave it up to the manager when he wants to put me in there.”

Judge, who last played on May 31, has made it known that he wants to skip a rehab assignment before coming back. He reiterated that point on Friday, though an organizational source said that the Yankees are still “working through” whether Judge should play in minor league games first. Those talks include input from the team’s coaching and training staffs, as well as Judge.

On Friday, Boone said that the Yankees still haven’t decided if Judge will play in rehab games.

“I don’t see a point,” Judge said. “Why waste the at-bats? So I don’t know. They haven’t told me they wanted me to do one, so we’ll see.”

Rehab games or not, Judge said he still needs to face live pitching “a couple times at least before I get back in a game.” There are no other steps he feels he needs to check, and he said he hasn’t felt anything but general soreness since intensifying his workload.

With Judge not expected to face live pitching while the Yankees are in San Diego, he won’t get opportunities to do so until the team’s off day on Monday, which follows a cross-country flight, at the earliest.

The Yankees will then play the Rockies from Sept. 8-10. After that, they’ll host the Mets for three games from Sept. 11-13. With the Yankees and Mets playing on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, there’s been some speculation that Judge will try to be back in time for that game, but he hedged when asked if he’d like to participate in that game.

“Yeah, it’s special,” said Judge, who captained Team USA in the World Baseball Classic earlier this year. “If I’m playing or not playing, it’s going to be special. It’s going to be a big day. That impacted not only a lot of New Yorkers, but the whole world and our whole country.

“The last time we played the Mets on 9/11 was 2021, and just seeing all of us get together, it was a great game. Getting all of New York together for one night like that, it’s such a tragic night, it’ll be special. So I don’t know about playing or not playing, but I’ll definitely be there and soaking it all in.”