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NEW YORK — If there’s one unshakeable truth about the Yankees and where they’re going this season, it’s that Aaron Judge has to be along for the ride. There’s no winning anything without him.
That axiom was shaken to the core on Tuesday when the club announced Judge would be sidelined indefinitely with a bone bruise in his right shoulder. The injury had been worsening recently, prompting Aaron Boone to tell the slugger his swing looked “off” during the Bombers’ weekend series against the A’s in Sacramento.
Judge underwent an MRI after the return flight from California Sunday night. He was set to confer with team physician Christopher Ahmad prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Guardians.
For now, Boone could only speculate how long Judge would be out of action.
“It could be a couple of days, it could be longer, I don’t know for sure,” Boone told reporters. “It’s kind of based on how he’s feeling day by day. Hopefully we avoided something serious, but we’ll have more of an idea after he meets with the doctor.”
The Yankees have no idea how Judge injured himself, although they made it clear the affected shoulder bothered him more when he was swinging the bat than throwing the ball.
Judge has historically dealt with minor injuries behind the scenes, almost never complaining about being in too much pain to play.
But the slugger had been receiving treatment for the shoulder during the road trip. That, and a slightly altered swing, prompted Boone to finally speak to his right fielder about allowing the medical staff to take a closer look.
Bone bruises are typically more painful than soft tissue damage, as they occur from high-impact trauma. For an outfielder, such an injury could occur from diving or crashing into a wall.
Lefthander Max Fried is currently on the injured list with a bone bruise. He’ll likely be out for a month or more, although Boone cautioned about comparing the two.
“That’s a little bit apples and oranges,” he said of Fried and Judge. “We’re talking about a pitcher, and it’s not something that’s affecting (Judge’s) throwing or anything. It’s just some discomfort in his swinging right now.”
Judge was last on the injured list in July 2025. He was diagnosed with a flexor strain in his right elbow and ended up missing 10 games.
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The three-time MVP has been injury-free this season until now, although his production has dropped slightly from past years.
Judge is batting .248 – 43 points below his career mark. His slugging percentage (.533) and OPS (.907) are also down from his career marks of .611 and 1.022.
In his last five games, as his shoulder presumably grew weaker, Judge batted .222 (4-for-18) with only one extra base hit and no home runs.
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