Aaron Judge Out Indefinitely With Stress Fracture

by William Gilhooly

Sportz Nation - 6/9/2026

Photo Credits to Cary Edmondson/Imagn Images

Back-to-back American League MVP Aaron Judge is out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his first right rib.

Judge underwent X-rays, a CT scan and an MRI this week as the New York Yankees worked to identify the injury.

Judge is expected to avoid baseball activities for four to six weeks before undergoing additional imaging. He is expected to begin ramping up baseball activities in mid-to late July. While there is no timetable for his return, the Yankees expect Judge to play again this season.

"I'm very disappointed," Judge said Friday. "That's why we went through every measure we could, to get every expert to take a look and see what was going on in there. It's definitely not what you want to hear, a fracture or anything like that."

Judge said he first noticed the pain after attempting a diving catch in right field against the Houston Astros on April 26. He added that crashing into a wall while making a catch against the Baltimore Orioles on May third "didn't help."

Judge continued to play through the injury, but his performance declined significantly beginning May 13.

He went 11-for-61 with one home run and eight RBIs during that stretch. He said the pain became so severe during the Yankees' most recent series against the Athletics that he had to limit his pregame swings.

"I kind of felt the symptoms for the past month, and we did everything we could to make sure we could be out there," Judge said. "In Sacramento, it just got a little worse. So I fought as long as I could."

Judge also noted that the injury occurred in a similar location to the stress fracture he suffered in 2019 while diving for a ball. He played through the remainder of that season before being diagnosed in March 2020 with a stress fracture and a collapsed lung.

Photo Credits to Jessie Alcheh/AP Photos

The Yankees called up outfielder Spencer Jones to take Judge's spot on the roster. Jose Caballero and Max Schuemann have also played games in right field during the past two weeks. 

Over the next couple of weeks, the Yankees expect that Jasson Dominguez and Giancarlo Stanton will be recovered from their respective injuries and could re-enter the outfield picture.

"Obviously, you're not going to replace Aaron Judge, and we all know how important he is to our club," manager Aaron Boone said. "But we're also very confident in our ability to go out there and absolutely have the expectation to continue to win games."

While Judge has taken a more conservative approach to certain aspects of his game preparation, the Yankees captain said he has no intention of changing his style of play in the outfield.

"It's baseball. I'm going to run into walls, dive for my pitchers and my teammates every single day," Judge said. "It's kind of out of your control. If I pull my hamstring, that's on me. You're not doing something right. But diving and trying to make a play for your teammate, that's playing the game."

-William Gilhooly