The Yankees announced Friday that new imaging this week of Aaron Judge’s injured rib showed healing, but not enough for the three-time MVP to resume baseball activities. The club said Judge, who suffered a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side earlier in the season, will undergo more imaging and progress with his rehab in the meantime.Judge and manager Aaron Boone, speaking before the Yankees faced the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night, said they were optimistic he’ll return this season.But as the Yankees prepared to play their first game after the All-Star break, and with two and half weeks until the Aug. 3 trade deadline, it remains unclear when — or if — their captain will be back.Judge, 34, hasn’t played since May 31. He believes he suffered the injury while trying to make a diving catch and avoid crashing into second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. during an April 26 game in Houston. He attempted to play through the injury, but the pain became too much to bear during a weekend series in Sacramento, Calif.Since going on the injured list June 5, Judge has had to pause most workouts, though lately he’s been able to do some lower body exercises in the gym, Boone has said.MLB cracks down on using AI in dugoutsIn 59 games, Judge hit .248 with 17 home runs, 38 RBIs and a .907 OPS. His production dropped significantly starting on May 7, though. In his final 22 games, Judge hit just .207 with two home runs.Talking to reporters on June 5, Judge said he had no regrets about playing through the pain.“Well, (Giancarlo Stanton) is hurt,” he said at the time. “Max Fried’s hurt. We had a lot of guys banged up. You’ve got to be out there. That’s what they’re paying me to do, is go out there and play.”The Yankees have struggled in Judge’s absence. They’re 18-19 without him and entered Friday three games back of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.Most Yankees hitters have slumped without Judge around. Only Ben Rice (139 WRC+) and Paul Goldschmidt (107) have registered wRC+ marks of at least 100 (league average) since he’s been sidelined. Cody Bellinger (81 wRC+), in particular, has struggled.Judge endured a similar injury when he fractured the same rib on a diving play in September 2019.This story will be updated.Jul 17, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms