NEW YORK — Imaging revealed New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge has a bone bruise in his right upper rib area and will meet with the team’s doctor Tuesday night to try to determine next steps, manager Aaron Boone said.
Judge was out of the starting lineup for the first time this season for Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees think it’s “overall good news” that Judge only has a bone bruise, and they hope it’s a “day-to-day situation” that won’t require an injured list stint, Boone said.
Judge has been dealing with “nagging” soreness for the last couple of weeks, the manager said, but it got worse during the past two games over the weekend in Sacramento. Judge went 2-for-12 (.167) during the three-game set versus the Athletics.
The injury is affecting how Judge swings but not how he throws, Boone said. Judge did not appear in the Yankees’ clubhouse during pregame media availability.
José Caballero was slated to start in right field Tuesday in place of Judge, whose injury timeline lines up with his recent struggles. Since May 17, he’s hit .163 with one home run and eight RBIs over 13 games.
He’s hit well overall this season, but nothing like his typical best-in-the-game production. Going into Tuesday, his .908 OPS was 13th-best in the majors, and his 17 home runs were tied for the third-most.
His .248 batting average is well below his MLB-best .331 mark from last season and his .322 average in 2024. After playing just 106 games in 2023, Judge has been something of an ironman for the Yankees, appearing in 158 games in 2024 and 152 games in 2025. He missed 10 games last year with a right flexor tendon strain.
Neither the Yankees nor Judge has been able to pinpoint whether the rib injury happened on a specific play or during a particular game, though Boone acknowledged it “could have been when he dove at some point” trying to make a catch.
“It’s probably been something that’s been affecting him here recently and especially (last) weekend,” Boone said. “Hopefully it’s something that we just get calmed down here.”
It’s not Judge’s first rib injury.
In March 2020, doctors discovered a stress fracture in his right rib, stemming from a dive he made in a game the prior September. He was shut down for two weeks, but the season was delayed until July due to the coronavirus pandemic.
If Judge needs to miss significant time, the Yankees’ options to replace him are questionable.
Caballero is a career infielder. They could shift left fielder Cody Bellinger to right field when Jasson Domínguez (left shoulder AC joint sprain) returns from the IL. But Domínguez may not even begin a rehab assignment until Friday, Boone said. Amed Rosario, another career infielder, has some outfield experience. The light-hitting Max Schuemann is another candidate.
Top prospect Spencer Jones struck out 12 times in 27 plate appearances in his MLB debut in May, though much of his playing time was intermittent. He entered Tuesday with a .954 OPS in 39 games at Triple A.