The New York Yankees added some much-needed reinforcements to their roster ahead of the trade deadline and even promoted top prospect George Lombard Jr. before Tuesday night’s matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals.
However, this team isn’t at its best without superstar outfielder Aaron Judge, and there still isn’t a clear timeline for his return after he last played on May 31 because of a rib injury.
During his Tuesday appearance on Talkin’ Yanks, Yankees manager Aaron Boone offered an optimistic update on Judge.
Boone Shares Update on Judge
“I’m not a medical person either, I chose this path. When they say he needs to go get another MRI, which I think is coming at some point soon here, that’ll be the time,” Boone said on Tuesday.
“There’s a lot of doctors, trainers involved in that and obviously they’re treating him every single day. All I can tell you is I know in talking to Judgy… he started to feel a lot better a few weeks ago when the image showed it was improving, and it feels like over the last couple weeks he feels quite a bit better and that needle continues to move,” he added. “I don’t know the exact date. I think it’s going to be here soon [to get an MRI], and when we know he’s going for the MRI, we will give you that update.”
Aaron Boone wasn’t surprised by the Yankees trade deadline
0:00 Intro
6:05 Boone joins the show
8:10 Lombard
11:20 Volpe
13:45 Deadline
19:25 Garcia
23:40 Judge
32:25 MLB-wide deadline thoughts pic.twitter.com/kMs4rwLUov— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 4, 2026
When asked whether Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Cody Bellinger could all return around the same time, Boone made it clear their returns would come in stages.
“I think Belli will be a lot before that. I think Stanton could be before that… so I think it’s going to be in layers,” Boone said.
Yankees Right Now
The Yankees have dealt with a long list of injuries this season, but they’ve managed to stay afloat.
They enter Tuesday night’s game at 63-50, trailing the Tampa Bay Rays by 3.5 games for the best record in the American League.
If the season ended today, the Yankees would host the Boston Red Sox in the Bronx in what would be an epic best-of-three Wild Card Series.
Aaron Boone Gives Major Update on Aaron Judge During Cardinals Series