Aaron Judge has a bat in his hand again.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters that the three-time American League MVP is beginning his hitting progression this week. That’s the step that the club has been waitng on since a stress fracture in his right rib shut the captain down May 31.

Judge had been swinging a bat in the pool over the weekend, Boone said. He likely will begin the progression by hitting off a tee, progressing to soft tossed ball, then full swings in the cage. The ramp-up also include facing pitchers in live batting practice and potentially a rehab game. Hitting is the toughest test for a rib injury and few players in baseball put more torque on their body than the 6-foot, 7-inch Judge.

The sooner the Yankees can get his bat back the better for their playoff hopes.

New York was 36-23 the last time Judge was in the lineup. Heading into Tuesday night’s game in Baltimore, they have gone 33-32 without him. To understand the impact of Judge, the Yankees were on pace for a 99-win season before he went down. They are on a 90-win pace right now.

Since June 1, the day after Judge’s last game, through last week, the Yankees rank last in the majors in batting average (.217), on-base percentage (.284) and wRC+ (87). Also they are 28th in OPS (.670, 27th in runs (226) and 29th in RBI (214).

Judge was hitting .248 with 17 homers, 38 RBI and a .908 OPS in 59 games when he went down.

Judge is still weeks away with Boone conceding he would likely need more than a spring training worth of ramp-up to get back given how long he’s been out. That isn’t ideal, but the Yankees are sitting atop the American League wild card standings, six back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the East and 2 1/2 games up on the Boston Red Sox.

The Yankees lineup has been shorthanded. Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger have also been on the injured list. Bellinger will get back first, as Boone said he is heading to a rehab assignment this week. Stanton has begun running.

The hope is the Yankees can have their expected lineup back before the playoffs start in October.