Aaron Judge underwent additional imaging Tuesday after lingering rib pain failed to improve, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone’s refusal to dismiss the possibility of a fracture immediately heightened concern about the AL MVP’s status.
The Yankees initially believed Judge was dealing with a bone bruise, but Boone’s latest comments suggest the team is still searching for answers as its most important player remains out of the lineup.
Aaron Judge Rib Injury: What Boone Said After New Imaging
The Yankees sent Judge for additional scans targeting what Boone described as “more specific spots” in the rib and chest area, after a specialist confirmed the initial bone bruise findings. Asked directly about a fracture, Boone declined to commit.
“I don’t want to speak out of turn. I don’t know that yet,” Boone told reporters, as quoted by New York Daily News beat writer Gary Phillips. “Obviously, it’s to a point to where he’s not playing, so we just want to make sure that we get a really strong diagnosis of things. Hopefully, then we can roll.”
The bone bruise had been nagging for roughly two weeks before worsening during the weekend series in Sacramento against the Oakland Athletics, Boone confirmed, according to MLB.com Yankees correspondent Bryan Hoch. Judge was pulled from the lineup Tuesday and was out again on Wednesday against the Cleveland Guardians.
Over a stretch of roughly three weeks before sitting down, the 34-year-old three-time AL MVP batted .207 with just six extra-base hits and seven consecutive strikeouts at one point, numbers that made little sense at the time. A rib bruise or fracture that disrupts rotation through contact could explain the prolonged slump.
Judge Injury History Adds to Yankees’ Concern
For all of Judge’s dominance — three AL MVP awards, the American League single-season home run record of 62 set in 2022, a .291 career batting average — staying healthy has been the one persistent challenge of his career. Since debuting in 2016, he has made at least 10 trips to the injured list, dealing with ailments across nearly every region of his body.
A right oblique strain ended his rookie season early in 2016. Shoulder surgery followed that offseason. A fractured right wrist from a hit-by-pitch wiped out most of 2018. Oblique strains recurred in 2019 and 2020. A calf injury and COVID-related absence hit in 2021. A hip strain arrived in 2023. And a torn ligament in his right big toe, also in 2023, cost him 42 games after he crashed into a bullpen gate at Dodger Stadium making a catch.
Judge had largely stayed upright since that toe injury. Until now. The current rib issue is the first meaningful health scare since that 2023 stretch, which derailed a Yankees team that missed the postseason entirely without him.
New York now stands at 36-25, with an offense ranked fifth in the majors in runs scored. Jasson Dominguez, working back from a shoulder injury, was targeting a minor league rehab assignment later this week. His return would add depth but obviously cannot provide the production and on-field leadership Judge provides.
Yankees Get Aaron Judge Injury Update And it Doesn’t Sound Good