New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, the reigning two-time American League MVP, will be a full participant when the team's full-squad workouts begin Monday, manager Aaron Boone said Sunday.

Judge was hampered by a flexor strain in his right elbow late in the 2025 season.

Boone said Judge is scheduled to play in "four or five" of the Yankees' first nine Grapefruit League games and will be built up to six innings before leaving the club to join Team USA on March 1 ahead of the World Baseball Classic. Judge and the Yankees' other WBC participants are on an accelerated timeline in preparation for the tournament, facing live pitching earlier and going through more rigorous workout days than normal for mid-February.