Both the Yankees and fantasy owners were dealt a crushing blow with news of Aaron Judge's rib injury. He has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his upper right rib and will be re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks. After that, it will likely take him up to two weeks to a month to ramp up after being cleared for baseball activities.
Breaking: Aaron Judge has been diagnosed with a stress fracture on the first rib on his right side, the Yankees announced Thursday.He will be reimaged in approximately four to six weeks. pic.twitter.com/h60NTEQveY— ESPN (@espn) June 5, 2026Even in the best-case scenario, fantasy owners should be prepared to be without Judge until at least August and even possibly September. The Yankees could replace him with a rotation of players. Since the injury took place, they have been rotating between Jose Caballero and Max Schuemann in right field, but they are expected to call up prospect Spencer Jones to be the long-term replacement until Judge is ready to return.
Fantasy Impact
OF Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
There is no replacing Judge if you were depending on him for your fantasy team. He's an all-time great hitter with historic power, and a player like that is irreplaceable. However, fantasy owners are going to have to do their best to piece together enough production to keep themselves afloat until he returns, and hope he hits the ground running and comes back in time for the fantasy playoffs.
