Aaron Judge will be sidelined indefinitely after the Yankees diagnosed a stress fracture on the first rib of his right side, with re-evaluation planned in about four to six weeks. The AL MVP missed three straight games while New York waited for more imaging af
NEW YORK — Aaron Judge sat out again, the Yankees building a familiar kind of dread around him: another day in the dugout that wasn’t about baseball timing, but about medical clarity.
On Thursday night, New York finally got that answer. The Yankees announced that the three-time AL MVP has been diagnosed with a stress fracture of his ribs — specifically the first rib on his right side. He’ll need rest and limited activity. and the team said he will be re-evaluated after additional imaging in about four to six weeks.
The club also set expectations carefully, saying Judge is expected to return “at some point this season.”
This started earlier in the day, when Judge was out of the lineup for a third straight game. The Yankees had been waiting on a clearer diagnosis after calling it what they said was a bone bruise in one of his right ribs, tied to right shoulder pain.
Manager Aaron Boone described how narrow the line was between what they were seeing and what it actually meant. With the findings still pending, Boone said the Yankees were waiting for the opinion of Dr. Gregory Pearl, a vascular surgery specialist in Dallas. “Look. it’s a lot of smart people in a specialized area and (the) guy’s several states aways. ” Boone said. “We just got to be patient.”.
Judge had undergone a CT scan on Thursday morning, and he’d had an MRI earlier in the week after meeting with a specialist. The bruise was first revealed when Judge went through testing on the team’s off day on Monday.
Boone said Thursday morning that the process wasn’t just about avoiding another wrong label—it was about getting the right one. “I’m obviously not a doctor, I don’t know how it all works, but there’s a lot of people involved in trying to make sure we get the right diagnosis,” Boone said.
Judge knows this territory too well. He previously was diagnosed with a stress fracture in one of his right ribs in March 2020. That injury came after he dived for a ball in September 2019, but he didn’t miss any time during the 2020 season because the schedule was delayed by the pandemic.
Against Cleveland on Thursday, the Yankees avoided a three-game sweep with a 2-1 victory. It was the kind of win that helps a lineup keep moving while one of its central pieces stays out, and it came just before the news that turns “awaiting clarity” into “planning for weeks.”
The immediate baseball picture has been mixed. Judge entered the game against Tampa Bay in a 1-for-24 slump that dropped his batting average to .246. He was hitless in 15 at-bats before singling in the first inning.
Through the season, Judge is hitting .248 with 17 homers and 38 RBIs. But the recent stretch had looked concerning: he has just one homer in his last 18 games since May 10. That drought finally ended on May 24 against the Tampa Bay Rays. when he delivered a game-ending. two-run drive to end an 11-game homer and RBI drought.
Last season, Judge’s numbers carried New York through a different kind of absence. When he was hurt last year, Giancarlo Stanton played 17 games in the outfield. Stanton has been dealing with his own injury. out since April 24 with a strained right calf. and he started taking live at-bats on the field Wednesday. though he was ruled out for New York’s upcoming road trip.
With Judge on the shelf, the Yankees have been piecing together right field.
Judge had started 52 of New York’s first 59 games in right field. Rookie Spencer Jones made four starts in right field before getting sent down May 22. Cody Bellinger has started two games.
In the recent stretch. José Caballero started the first two games against Cleveland and has made four starts in right field since being acquired from Tampa Bay at the July 31 trade deadline. Max Schuemann made his first career start in right field on Thursday and made a diving catch on Steven Kwan in the second. along with a leaping catch on Brayan Rocchio in the seventh.
The sequence of decisions now is straightforward: rest, limited activity, more imaging, and patience—time measured not in at-bats, but in weeks.
New York will have to play through that clock without Aaron Judge until his re-evaluation in about four to six weeks, with the team’s only firm line being that he is expected to return “at some point this season.”
Aaron Judge Yankees injury update stress fracture rib right shoulder pain MLB news Aaron Boone Dr. Gregory Pearl bone bruise Cleveland Tampa Bay Rays Giancarlo Stanton Spencer Jones Cody Bellinger José Caballero Max Schuemann