It was strange, during the 2025 MLB regular season, when Yankees star Aaron Judge made his return to the field and just could not seem to throw the way he once did. The Yankees did their best to work around the problem, but it did seem to raise some worrying questions about what might happen with Judge after the season.
In July, of course, Judge was put on the injured list with a flexor strain in his right elbow, and injury that the team felt would heal with rest. Judge came back to the lineup as a DH in August after missing only 10 days, and there were concerns raised when he hit just .216 in his first 22 games back at the plate. He returned to the field on September 5, despite the fact that it was obvious he was struggling still with throwing the ball.
Speculation that Judge would have surgery after the season did not become reality, which was a positive–except that concerns lingered that Judge would still be dealing with the elbow problem when spring training came around.
Aaron Judge ‘Looks Good — Including His Throwing’
Well, spring training is here. And at the Yankees facility in Tampa, Judge has been spotted in workouts, and his throwing has looked pretty much normal. New York Post beat writer Jon Heyman wrote on Twitter/X, along with an accompanying video, “Aaron Judge looks good—including his throwing which was limited late last year.”
That’s been the Yankees’ stance through the offseason, and the fact that Judge–who won his third AL MVP award last season–had agreed to participate in the World Baseball Classic seemed to provide some underlying credence to the notion that the injury was not a concern.
As manager Aaron Boone said last month in a conference call with reporters: “Actually, because he has ramped up his throwing program a little bit more because he’s getting ready for the WBC, he’s ahead of the game more so than he even normally is from a throwing standpoint. I know it’s going really well for him, and he feels ready to go right away in camp.”
Yankees Have 12 Players on WBC Rosters
Now, speaking of the WBC, which begins on march 5 and will feature games played in Tokyo, Houston, Miami and San Juan, the Yankees will be well-represented, maybe more than Boone would like.
The Yankees will have 12 players and prospects suiting up in the tournament, which runs through March 17. In addition to Judge, Paul Goldschmidt will also be on Team USA, Jazz Chisholm will represent Britain, and Austin Wells will rep the Dominican Republic.
“You’re starting to see now, from the U.S. side, guys don’t want to miss out on this,” Boone told WFAN in New York earlier this month. “It’s at that point of popularity, maybe it’s at its peak. But we have seven, eight, nine guys in it … like, damn, let’s get through it. Especially the pitchers. But ultimately, [the WBC] is good for the game.”
Yankees Get Good News on Aaron Judge Injury Concerns