Judge Will See Specialist Wednesday on Rib Bruise — Aaron Judge Injury
Aaron Judge injury news turned Wednesday into the next checkpoint for the Yankees: their star right fielder is scheduled to see a specialist for another opinion on the bone bruise in his upper right rib. Judge missed Tuesday’s 9-4 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium, and the club still lists him day to day.
Boone Explains Judge Visit
Aaron Boone said the Yankees want a specialist to look at it, too, to kind of rule out anything else or see if there’s anything else to see. Team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad examined Judge on Tuesday night, and Boone said Ahmad’s findings matched the imaging the club already had.
Boone also said the injury is affecting how Judge swings but not how he throws. José Caballero started in right field in Judge’s place on Tuesday, a straight replacement move while the Yankees wait for the next medical opinion.
Judge’s Recent Slide
The rib issue has not appeared out of nowhere. Judge had been dealing with nagging soreness in the area for a couple of weeks, and Boone said, “It’s probably been something that’s been affecting him here recently and especially (last) weekend.” The pain got worse over the weekend against the Athletics in Sacramento, when Judge went 2-for-12 during the three-game set.
Since May 17, he has hit.163 with one home run and eight RBIs over 13 games. Before Tuesday, Judge’s overall line still looked strong on paper, with a.908 OPS and 17 home runs, but his.248 batting average sat well below his.331 mark from last season and his.322 average in 2024. That split shows why the Yankees are taking a cautious path instead of pushing through the discomfort.
March 2020 Rib Memory
Boone said Judge’s rib injury “could have been when he dove at some point,” and the club has not pinned it to one play or one game. There is a precedent here: in March 2020, doctors found a stress fracture in Judge’s right first rib and a partially collapsed lung stemming from a dive he made in a game the prior September. He was shut down for two weeks then, and Boone said it was “tough to say” whether there was any connection to the current issue.
For now, the Yankees are waiting on the specialist’s read before they decide whether Judge can keep playing through it or needs a longer break. The immediate practical change is simple: Caballero holds right field if Judge cannot go, while the lineup keeps accounting for a bat that has been limited by the bruise for at least the past couple of weeks.
