The injury that has kept reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge out of the lineup for three games is more serious than originally thought.
Judge will miss time with a stress fracture to a rib, the Yankees said Thursday night, adding that the right fielder is expected to return at some point in 2026. He will get more imaging on the injury in four to six weeks, presumably around the time of the All-Star break. Considering New York will want to ramp him back up in the minors, it stands to reason that the earliest Judge would return is late July or early August.
Earlier Thursday, news broke that Judge was referred to a vascular specialist based in Dallas as he continues to be sidelined with what the Yankees initially called a bone bruise in his upper right rib. He had a CT scan on Thursday after undergoing an MRI earlier in the week when he met with another specialist. Manager Aaron Boone said that an edema or swelling has complicated efforts to figure out just what’s wrong with his star player.
Judge was previously diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right ribs in March 2020. He suffered the injury when diving for a ball in September 2019.
The specialist the Yankees consulted with is Dr. Gregory Pearl, who specializes in thoracic outlet syndrome management. If Judge did have thoracic outlet syndrome, it could have sidelined him for the rest of the season. It seems, tentatively, like that scenario has been averted.
Boone noted that Judge had been dealing with discomfort in his shoulder for a few weeks, but it only really bothers him when he swings.
New York is currently a half-game behind the Rays atop the AL East, and Judge is the cornerstone of the team’s offense. Through 59 games this season, he is slashing .248/.375/.533 with 17 home runs, 38 RBIs and a wRC+ of 150. By his lofty standards, it has been a bit of a down year. And since May 11, he is only hitting .206 with one home run and eight RBIs.
Ace pitcher Gerrit Cole discussed with MLB.com's Bryan Hoch what Judge means to the team and how it could move forward without him.
“Aaron obviously means a lot to us,“ Cole said. “He just plays great baseball all the time and brings great energy. It’s tough when guys get hurt, but unfortunately, it’s part of the game. As a team, you’ve got to figure out how to step up in those situations, and so that’s what we’ll do.“
New York’s offense has been bolstered by first baseman Ben Rice’s breakout campaign. The 27-year-old is slashing .304/.395/.647 with 17 home runs, 44 RBIs and a wRC+ of 184, and ranks third in baseball with 2.7 fWAR. While the team might be able to tread water if Judge is out a month or two, World Series contention would almost certainly out of the question if they lose one of the sport's best players for the season.
Regardless of how long Judge is out, the Yankees will need the rest of their lineup to step up to fill a gigantic void. Tampa Bay is a formidable in-division threat, a contending Guardians team took two of three from New York without Judge, and the National League’s strength bodes poorly for a team that entered the year with title hopes.
