New York Yankees fans are breathing a sigh of relief as franchise cornerstone Aaron Judge has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his first rib following Thursday’s CT scan.
While he will be out indefinitely, the good news is that the injury is not believed to be season-ending, according to multiple reports.
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman wrote earlier on Thursday that the Yankees were hoping to rule out thoracic outlet syndrome, which impacts nerves and blood vessels around the ribs and typically entails a nine- or 10-month recovery period. Instead, tests uncovered a stress fracture and a source of optimism for Yankees fans.
Judge is expected to undergo more imaging tests in the next month or so to determine his progression.
The second-place Yankees are 37-25 after Thursday’s win over the Cleveland Guardians. The Bombers will host the rival Boston Red Sox on Friday in the Bronx, although much of the city is expected to be distracted by Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Knicks and San Antonio Spurs.
Judge was out for the third straight game on Thursday as manager Aaron Boone urged media and fans to be patient with the testing process.
New York Yankees fans are breathing a sigh of relief as franchise cornerstone Aaron Judge has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his first rib following Thursday’s CT scan
‘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.
‘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 added.
Judge previously had a stress fracture in his right ribs at the start of the 2020 season. But, due to that season being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, he was able to avoid any prolonged absence.
Judge’s average has dipped to .248 this year, but he has 17 home runs and 38 RBIs.
He’d struggled of late with a 1-for-24 slump before sitting with the injury. Judge won the batting title in 2025 by hitting a career-best .331 to go with 53 home runs and 114 RBIs.
Although he battled a flexor strain last season, he received a platelet-rich plasma injection over the offseason to avoid surgery.
Judge’s place in right field could be filled by rookie Spencer Jones, veteran Cody Bellinger, minor-league callup Max Schuemann or even utility man Jose Caballero.
