New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone reversed course on the status of star Aaron Judge on Tuesday, saying he should be able to return to the field this season after earlier casting doubt on whether that would happen.

Judge has been limited to being a designated hitter since being activated from the injured list on Aug. 5, after a stint there due to a flexor strain in his right elbow.

Boone told radio station WFAN on Tuesday that there is no timetable on a fielding return for Judge.

“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 said those comments took him surprise, leading him to push back on the Yankees manager.

The star slugger said he feels “way better” than earlier this month, when he couldn’t make a 60-foot toss. He added that he’s thrown out to 250 feet and sounded optimistic about getting back to full strength.

“I don’t know why he said that,” Judge said. “He hasn’t seen me throw for the past two weeks, so I’m pretty confident I’ll get back to (100%).”

Boone then acknowledged he may have overstated the situation with his initial comment to WFAN.

“Is he going to come back and be a 70-80 arm?” Boone told media before the Yankees played the Rays in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday night. “I don’t know that I’m expecting that necessarily. But when we get him back out there, I would expect him to be able to handle it.”

The Yankees are coming off a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals and hold a three-game lead for the final American League wild-card spot. Offensively, they will be satisfied if Judge can simply remain productive at the plate. He entered the week batting .333 with 39 home runs, 91 RBI and a 1.134 OPS, all among the league leaders. His home run Sunday was his first extra-base hit since returning.

Judge’s inability to play the field has reduced the team’s flexibility.

Giancarlo Stanton returned to the Yankees’ lineup Tuesday night after missing three games with what the team described as general soreness. Stanton is batting .299 with 12 home runs, 34 RBI and a .953 OPS this season, but his long injury history makes any outfield assignment a risk. He did not debut until mid-June because of tendinitis in both elbows. After playing three straight games in the outfield last week, he then missed three with the soreness. He has declined to specify where the discomfort occurred.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Seattle Mariners outfielder Victor Robles has received a 10-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for his conduct during the top of the third inning of a game Sunday in Triple-A, where he was on a rehab assignment, Major League Baseball said Tuesday.

Las Vegas starter Joey Estes’ first pitch to Robles in the third inning was inside, and Robles whacked at it to avoid getting hit. After taking a few steps behind the plate and dropping his bat, Robles picked up the bat and threw it in Estes’ direction and was immediately ejected from the game by plate umpire Joe McCarthy.

Robles, who had been hit by a pitch three times in his previous four games with Tacoma, took some steps toward the mound while yelling at the pitcher but was held back by McCarthy and others.

He took to social media later to apologize for letting his frustration get the best of him.

“Coming off a long rehab and being away from the game for most of the season has been physically and mentally challenging,” Robles said in an Instagram story. “Adding to that, the recent passing of my mother has been incredibly hard, and I’ve been doing my best to hold it together. That’s not an excuse, but some context I feel you deserve to understand where I’m coming from.”

The suspension is to be effective on the first day Robles returns to the Mariners’ active roster. He has been recovering from a shoulder injury suffered in April.

Robles is appealing, so the disciplinary action is on hold until that process is complete.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Jose Alvarado returned from his rehab assignment with Triple-A Lehigh Valley and was reinstated from the restricted list before Tuesday night’s game against Seattle.

Alvarado’s return follows an 80-game suspension for violating baseball’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.

Alvarado is ineligible for the postseason, possibly impacting manager Rob Thomson’s decision on who to use as closer in the final weeks of the regular season. Alvarado was 4-1 with seven saves and a 2.70 ERA before being placed on the restricted list by Major League Baseball on May 18.

Among other closer options in a deep bullpen are Jhoan Duran and Jordan Romano and set-up men Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm.

Alvarado, 30, has 52 career saves, including a career-high 13 in 2024.

At the time of Alvarado’s suspension, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said the positive test was caused by a weight loss drug Alvarado took during the offseason.

“It’s not something he did knowingly,” Dombrowski said. “I believe that, the way he talked to me.”

Alvarado allowed no runs in five rehab appearances with Lehigh Valley. He allowed four hits, struck out four batters and issued four walks across five innings.

To make room on the 26-man roster, right-hander Nolan Hoffman was optioned to Lehigh Valley. Left-hander Josh Walker was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Alvarado was the second player suspended this year under the big league testing program after Atlanta outfielder Jurickson Profar.