Aaron Judge seeing progress after swinging a bat

The judge took 25 dry swings and then 25 off a tee with a ball prior to Monday's road game against the Oakland Athletics.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is seeing progress after swinging a bat on Monday for the first time since he fractured his right wrist on July 26.

The judge took 25 dry swings and then 25 off a tee with a ball prior to Monday's road game against the Oakland Athletics.

"It's moving in the right direction. It's definitely a big step," Judge told reporters. "We're just excited and kind of on track with what we're going to one day accomplish. So I'm excited about the progress we're making so far."

The judge said he was swinging with 100 percent effort. He was pleased to be able to do so without feeling any pain.

"I was feeling good," Judge said. "I tried to just do my normal routine. I didn't want to take anything at 50 percent. It felt great. I took some quality hacks. We'll see how it feels in the morning."

The Yankees have been encouraged with Judge's rehab efforts over the past week after the injury was initially slow to heal.

The judge was hit on the wrist by a pitch from Jakob Junis of the Kansas City Royals and the team pinpointed a three-week recovery period.

However, the injury healed slowly and Judge received a cortisone shot in mid-August. He has missed 5 1/2 weeks so far with a return date still unclear.

Monday's development with swinging the bat was a good sign in the eyes of New York manager Aaron Boone.

"We definitely feel like he's starting to build some momentum for him to swing and hit off a tee, and for it to go really well, is obviously a great sign," Boone told reporters. "I know he's pleased with it, and just starting to build momentum toward getting back. So was a very good day of progress."

Boone indicated that a new timetable for Judge's return could be discussed "once we get through this weekend" if he continues to move in the right direction.

A judge was batting .285 with 26 homers and 61 RBIs in 99 games prior to the injury. He was the American League Rookie of the Year and AL MVP runner-up last season when he hit .284 with 52 homers and 114 RBIs in 155 games.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)