The Yankees have to hold their breath anytime Aaron Judge goes down with an injury. How the team performs in his absence has been a mixed bag. He missed extended time in 2018 and 2019, and the Yankees were good enough to win 100 games.Things were a little different in 2023. It was the first time the Yankees had missed the postseason since 2016, and they finished the year with an 82-80 record, 19 games out of first place. Before he met the Dodger Stadium wall, the Yankees were 35-25. While they may not have caught the Orioles that season, with Judge healthy, they could at least have had a shot at the Wild Card.The Yankees have had their fair share of struggles when Aaron Judge has missed time due to injury. | Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesThat injury during the Dodgers series happened in June, and now, as if the Baseball Gods have decided that this month will be the ruination of the Yankees, Judge's status is once again uncertain. He's dealing with a lingering bone bruise near his right rib cage, which is affecting his swing."We just want clarity on what exactly we're dealing with," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, according to the New York Post's Andrew Crane. "Then we can set the course of action and kind of have an idea of what the timeline's gonna be."Aaron Judge's injury is Yankees' biggest concern in June So far, the Yankees have no idea how long Judge will be out."It kind of depends on probably this diagnosis with the doctors and seeing where he's at Wednesday and Thursday," Boone continued.Of course, if there is one thing the Yankees have done well this season, it's navigating injuries. There has never been a point in the year when the starting rotation has been healthy at once. Once Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón returned, Max Fried found himself on the shelf.The Yankees rank third in all of baseball with a collective 3.10 ERA for their starters. The Dodgers are first with a 3.01 ERA, and just below them are the Brewers with a 3.07 ERA."You don't want to see any player get hurt, right?" the returning Cole said. "Aaron, obviously, means a lot to us and just plays great baseball all the time and brings great energy, so, you know, 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.Next man up, volume 2If Judge goes down, the Yankees will have to do what they did in 2019 and adopt a next-man-up mentality—the DNA of that year's team. Someone will have to step up in his place.That could be Spencer Jones' second stint in the big leagues. The hope is that it goes better than his first. It could also be Jasson Domínguez, who is close to coming back after resuming live batting this week. He's expected to begin his rehab stint on Friday, per NY Daily News Sports' Gary Phillips. One of Jasson Dominguez’s AB’s against Chivilli in his live BP this afternoon pic.twitter.com/YKlGkYDO9J— Erik Boland (@eboland11) June 3, 2026Whoever it is, Judge hasn't been himself all year, and the Yankees still managed to have a 116 wRC+, which is second in baseball. Let's see if they can keep it up if their captain, who leads by example off the field, goes down for an extended period.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow