Aaron Judge has stress fracture in rib, will undergo further imaging in 4-6 weeks

The Yankees revealed Aaron Judge's injury diagnosis, and while it is not the worst-case scenario, it certainly stings.

Judge has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in the first rib on his right side and will rest until he undergoes another round of imaging in 4-6 weeks to determine the level of healing. The Yankees did note in their press release that Judge is expected back "at some point this season."

Fans began fearing the worst when Judge's imaging was being evaluated by a thoracic outlet syndrome specialist in Dallas, but fortunately for Judge and the Yanks, that seems to have been ruled out. Thoracic outlet syndrome likely would have meant the end of Judge's season.

Recovery from stress fractures in the ribs can be tricky, but position players tend to return quicker than pitchers. Chris Sale is a recent pitcher who suffered the injury and missed more than three months, but if Judge's next round of imaging shows enough healing to the point where the Yankees are comfortable ramping up his recovery before sending him on a rehab assignment, he could be back in two months. If his recovery is on the slower side, Judge's return could be pushed back to the tail end of the regular season.

The Yankees have struggled without Judge in the past five years, posting a record of 13 games below .500. They cratered in 2023 when Judge went down with a season-ending toe injury, but Judge had played full seasons in 2024 and 2025, winning AL MVP in both seasons.

Judge had not been looking like his typical self for much of this season, batting just .243 with a .907 OPS. The 17 home runs were encouraging, but his overall numbers were notably less productive than what Judge has shown for much of his career.

The Yankees, just 0.5 games back of the Rays for first place in the AL East, will have to lean on Ben Rice for offense while their vaunted starting rotation will have to carry the load for the coming months.