Yankees captain Judge's rib injury requires further examination, team seeks clear diagnosis

Aaron Judge observed the game from the Yankees' dugout for the second straight day today. At the same time, the New York Yankees' medical team is still working to reach a clear conclusion regarding the ailment affecting their team leader.

According to manager Aaron Boone, a New York specialist confirmed the team's initial diagnosis—that the slugger has a bone bruise near his right rib—and subsequently ordered additional tests. "He's going to have a few more imaging exams," Boone said after the Yankees lost 4-5 to the Guardians. "They want to take a closer look at certain areas, and we'll have more updates later."

The additional imaging examinations suggest the injury may be more serious than Boone initially indicated yesterday. Judge reported discomfort during the team's series against the Athletics in West Sacramento and subsequently missed his first game of the season.

"Aaron obviously means a lot to us," said Gerrit Cole. "He consistently plays great baseball and brings tremendous energy. It's always tough when a player gets hurt, but unfortunately, that's part of the game. As a team, you have to find a way to step up in such situations, and we will."

According to Boone, Judge has been dealing with right shoulder discomfort for the past few weeks, though he only feels pain when swinging. Judge has not spoken to reporters since the team left West Sacramento. Boone said Judge cannot pinpoint exactly when the discomfort began. Since May 11, Judge has gone 14-for-68 (.206) with just one home run, eight RBIs, and 19 strikeouts. Over 59 games this season, his overall batting line stands at .248/.375/.533 with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs.

"It's definitely tough not having him out there, but at the same time, we're still a team," said Jazz Chisholm Jr. "I think we have a lot of great players on this squad. Judge is incredible, but one man alone can't carry everything. You always want your teammates to be healthy and happy, but no matter what, we have to stick together."

In 2019, Judge suffered a serious rib injury on his right side. During a diving catch in a September game that year, he sustained a stress fracture of the right first rib and a partial lung collapse. Judge played through the 2019 postseason with the injury, but if the pandemic-shortened 2020 season had started on schedule, he would have been on the injured list until June.

The Yankees are still uncertain whether Judge will ultimately need to go on the injured list, but as of today, they are not ruling out that possibility. "We're just trying to figure out exactly what we're dealing with," Boone said. "Then we can formulate a plan of action and get a rough idea of what the recovery timeline will look like."

José Caballero has filled in for Judge in right field for the past two days. Judge, 34, has won the American League Most Valuable Player Award three times in the last four seasons. "Whatever the manager needs, I can do," Caballero said.