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Aaron Judge will be out through at least the All-Star break after he was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side, the New York Yankees announced Thursday, June 4. Judge, the three-time American League MVP, has undergone significant testing since last playing in a game May 31. The club announced Thursday that his test results would be reviewed by a thoracic outlet syndrome specialist, and the announcement of the rib fracture came several hours later. The Yankees said Judge's injury will require a period of "rest and limited activity," and Judge will be reexamined in four to six weeks; the lone timeline offered by the club was that Judge is "expected to return sometime this season." It's unclear whether the stress fracture would ultimately require removal of the rib, a surgical procedure that would likely sideline Judge for the remainder of the season. Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler was diagnosed with vacuous TOS and underwent removal of the rib last September; he did not pitch in a regular season game until April 25. Judge, 34, won his second consecutive AL MVP last season when he led the majors in batting (.331), on-base (.457) and slugging (.688) and hit 53 home runs. He was off to a similarly powerful start this season, with 17 home runs in 59 games, though his OPS of .907 - while still elite - is off his 1.144 pace of 2025. Minus Judge, the Yankees lost two of three games to the Cleveland Guardians. They started Jose Caballero in right field the first two games of the series, then moved Caballero to shortstop, benched Anthony Volpe and gave Max Schuemann a start in right. Judge's production will be virtually impossible to replace, and the extent of Judge's injury and length of absence may frame the extent to which they seek offensive reinforcements at the August trade deadline. New York enters the weekend 37-25, a half-game behind Tampa Bay in the AL East.
