Judge 'frustrated' as recovery period passes 3-week mark

It's been exactly three weeks since New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge's wrist was fractured in a game against the Kansas City Royals, and the extended time off has left the 26-year-old frustrated.

"I'm not frustrated with the pace (of the healing). I'm frustrated with being out," Judge said, according to ESPN's Coley Harvey.

After he was diagnosed with a chip fracture in his right wrist from being hit by a pitch, the Yankees hoped their star outfielder could return to action in three weeks, though general manager Brian Cashman recently admitted that timeline was off. He didn't provide a specific return date, however.

Judge, who was given a cortisone shot Monday, has eased back into baseball activities over the past two days, including running the bases, reading fly balls, and taking some light swings underwater without a bat.

"I would say (Wednesday) was a big step forward for him in some of the things he was able to do," manager Aaron Boone said. "So hopefully, bat in hand soon to follow, and then we can progress pretty quickly from there, I would imagine."

While he continues to cheer for the Yankees from the dugout, Judge doesn't plan to rush his recovery.

"I've got a broken bone. It's still fractured. I've got to give it time to heal," he said. "Just got to make sure I'm 100 percent before I got back out there because I don't want to have a setback."

The two-time All-Star is hitting .285/.398/.548 with 26 home runs and 61 RBIs in 99 games.