NEW YORK — Every day was supposed to bring the Yankees closer to an answer on Aaron Judge. Instead, each one is pulling the hopeful outcome further out of reach. A specialist has now examined him. More imaging is on the way. And the longer the process drags on, the more ominous the tone around their captain becomes.
Judge avoided the injured list for the moment. But the Yankees’ decision to order additional high-power tests on his rib cage suggests this is not the quick scare the team had hoped for.
The waiting game stretches on
Judge sat out a second straight game Wednesday as the Yankees dropped a 5-4 decision to the Cleveland Guardians. Before and after the loss, manager Aaron Boone offered updates that raised more questions than they answered.
A specialist saw Judge on Wednesday and confirmed what the Yankees had already observed about the bone bruise near his right rib cage, the injury that has been affecting his swing. That confirmation, though, was not the end of the process. It was the start of a deeper one.
Judge is now being sent for more advanced imaging on very specific areas of the rib and chest. Boone explained that the team wants certainty before charting any plan.
“We just want clarity on what exactly we’re dealing with,” Boone said. “Then we can set the course of action and kind of have an idea of what the timeline’s gonna be.”
Why the extra testing feels ominous
Here is the part that should worry Yankees fans. When a team confirms a diagnosis but still orders more high-power, more specific tests, it usually means it is trying to rule out something more serious. In this case, that something is a potential fracture.
Boone was careful not to overstate the situation, but he did not dismiss the concern either. Asked directly whether there was added worry about a possible fracture, the manager kept the door open.
“I don’t want to speak out of turn. I don’t know that yet,” Boone said. “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 timeline of events adds to the unease. Judge last played Sunday. He underwent imaging on the team’s off day Monday, met with team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad on Tuesday, saw a specialist Wednesday, and now faces still more tests Thursday. Each step has extended the uncertainty rather than ended it.
A slump that now makes sense
The injury also reframes the strange stretch Judge endured before sitting down. He had been scuffling badly by his own lofty standards, and the bruise appears to be the reason.
Over his last 22 games before Tuesday, Judge hit just .207, going 17-for-82 with 26 strikeouts. He managed only six extra-base hits in that span and had launched just one home run since May 11. He even endured a career-worst 11-game stretch without an RBI. His season average slipped to .248.
Boone acknowledged the connection between the nagging injury and the downturn. The admission only reinforced how long Judge may have been compromised.
“I think there is some correlation,” Boone said of the link between the worsening injury and the slump.
For context, Judge still owns 17 home runs on the year and is the reigning AL MVP and batting champion, having hit .331 in 2025. A player of that caliber slumping for a month was always a red flag, and the rib bruise now offers the explanation.
The Yankees scramble to cover the void
With Judge out, the Yankees have been forced to reshape their lineup on the fly, and the early returns have not been good. They have lost both games without him.
Boone started Jose Caballero in right field again, a position the utilityman had not played since September until this week. Boone said the Yankees trust Caballero in many spots, and the move paid modest dividends Wednesday, as Caballero homered and singled. Ben Rice, in just his second full big league season, has become the lineup’s primary power source. Rice ripped a double as one of only five Yankees hits, though he could not add to his 17 homers and 44 RBIs.
The bigger question is how long the Yankees can operate this way before making a roster move. Boone admitted he did not know, tying any decision to the results of Judge’s testing.
“It kind of depends on probably this diagnosis with the doctors,” Boone said.
A team bracing for life without its star
History explains why the Yankees are uneasy. They have struggled to replace Judge before. His last injured list stint came in July 2025 with a flexor strain in his right elbow that cost him 10 games. In 2023, a torn ligament in his right big toe sidelined him for more than a month and forced the Yankees to patch together offense without their best hitter.
This time, the team had hoped to be better equipped. The first two games without Judge suggested otherwise. Gerrit Cole, who took the loss Wednesday, spoke about the challenge of moving forward without the captain anchoring the group.
“You don’t want to see any player get hurt, right?” Cole said. “Aaron, obviously, means a lot to us and just plays great baseball all the time and brings great energy, so it’s tough when guys get hurt. But unfortunately, it’s part of the game and as a team, you gotta figure out how to step up in those situations. So that’s what we’ll do.”
For now, the Yankees can only wait. Judge remains off the injured list, but that status feels increasingly fragile with every additional test. What began as hope for a best-case, few-day absence has quietly turned into a tense vigil. Until the high-power imaging delivers a verdict, the Yankees are left holding their breath over the player they can least afford to lose.
What do you think? Are the Yankees hiding something?
