The New York Yankees provided a shocking and less than ideal announcement before their game against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday.
When revealing the starting lineup, the Yankees notably left out their captain and strongest hitter, Aaron Judge. Yankees manager Aaron Boone later spoke with the media and said that Judge is dealing with a shoulder injury.
According to Boone, Judge has been dealing with the nagging soreness in the right clavicle area for weeks. However, the discomfort worsened during the Yankees' series in Sacramento against the Athletics last weekend, and imaging later showed a bone bruise. The Yankees said that the bruise was found in his right ribs, although Judge is feeling it in his shoulder and feels the brunt of it while swinging the bat.
In addition to leaving Judge out of the starting lineup, Boone said that it could be a "day to day" situation when monitoring Judge. The hope is that the Yankees identified it early enough for it to be a short-term injury. The 6-foot-7 slugger will meet with a doctor later tonight.
This injury to Judge could explain the relative lack of production by his standards this year. Although the 34-year-old has hit 17 home runs and boasts a 150 wRC+ over 59 games, his batting average has hovered around .250 for some time. Judge currently has a slash line of .248/.375/.533; his numbers are still very good overall, but significantly down compared to 2024 and 2025.
Judge's shoulder issues likely dates back to May 11, which marked the beginning of an 18-game slump. Over that span, he's hitting .206/.304/.309 with just one home run and eight RBI, and all eight runs he knocked in came from May 24 to May 31. The one home run Judge hit was a huge one, though: it was a two-run walk-off homer against the first place Tampa Bay Rays on May 24.
The Yankees can't afford to be without Judge for a significant period of time. Although Ben Rice has emerged as a potential AL MVP candidate, Judge's presence in the lineup benefits all of his teammates (including Rice) by giving them better pitches to hit. Players like Rice, Cody Bellinger, and the currently injured Giancarlo Stanton can all attest to how Judge's presence results in them seeing more strikes and opportunities to do damage.
Regardless, the Yankees will look to continue their winning ways with their captain out on Tuesday. After a successful 5-1 road trip last week, the Bronx Bombers are now just one game behind the Rays for first place in the AL East.
