Yankees' Aaron Judge diagnosed with rib stress fracture, out 4-6 weeks

Aaron Judge’s right rib stress fracture leaves the Yankees facing a blunt reality: a lineup built around baseball’s premier run producer now has to survive weeks without him, with the trade deadline and the standings both hanging in the balance. Judge was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side and will be reimaged in about four to six weeks, a timeline that pushes his return deep enough into the summer to complicate New York’s short-term offense and its longer-range roster plans.

The injury was first believed to be a bone bruise near Judge’s right rib cage, but further testing changed the diagnosis after he consulted a specialist. Aaron Boone said Judge underwent an MRI, CT scan and X-rays, and swelling in the area delayed the final read on the damage. MLB.com reported that Judge is expected to return at some point this season, but the Yankees now have to plan for an extended stretch without the centerpiece of their batting order.

That absence matters because Judge had already been carrying elite production. The 34-year-old was hitting .248/.375/.533 with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs in 59 games at the time of the report, while also owning three of the American League’s last four Most Valuable Player awards, winning in 2022, 2024 and 2025. He had been out of the starting lineup for the second straight game in Wednesday’s 5-4 loss to the Guardians, a game that underscored how quickly the Yankees’ margin for error shrinks when Judge cannot play.

The concern is not just this injury, but the pattern around it. Judge had the same right first rib fractured before, in 2020, and AP News and ESPN reported that the earlier injury traced back to a diving catch in September 2019 and was accompanied by a partially collapsed lung. AP News also reported that Judge later said the collapsed lung had healed and that the broken rib was improving, a reminder that the current setback sits on top of a serious prior injury to the same area.

For the Yankees, the next month is less about the medical bulletin than the baseball ripple effect. Judge’s recheck in four to six weeks will set the tone for how aggressively New York can attack the rest of the season, whether it needs to protect its place in the standings, and whether the front office has to look harder at outside help before the deadline. In a 162-game season, the loss of one star can be absorbed only so long before it becomes a roster problem.