Aaron Judge still waiting for more scans, no update on Yankees captain's stress fracture in rib

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge is approaching four weeks since going on the injured list with a stress fracture of his right rib, but the New York Yankees captain has yet to have updated scans.

“I’ve got nothing for you,” Judge said Wednesday before the Yankees faced the Tigers. “You know how it goes around here — guys can feel good, feel bad, but you’ve got to wait on images. I’ll give you a good update when we get some imaging.”

The three-time AL MVP has not played since May 31 and went on the injured list June 5 after a CT scan, an MRI and a meeting with a specialist.

When the Yankees put Judge on the IL, they said he would have limited activity before getting re-evaluated and having additional imaging in four to six weeks.

“There’s no need to talk about this now,” Judge said. “I know it’s an important topic and a big issue, but I want to give you guys the full story.”

The Yankees began Wednesday 12-14 without Judge, who is hitting .248 with 17 homers and 38 RBIs. Judge had one homer in his final 18 games before getting sidelined and ended an 11-game homer and RBI drought with a game-ending, two-run drive on May 24 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

New York won nine of its first 13 games without Judge but entered Wednesday hitting .127 during a six-game losing streak.

“It’s not great,” Judge said. “It’s a little lack of focus. We got to dial it in.”

Including a stint on the COVID-19 injured list in July 2021, Judge is on the IL for the 10th time since debuting on Aug. 13, 2016. He missed 45 games with a fractured right wrist in 2018, 54 games with a strained left oblique in 2019 and 42 games with a fractured toe in 2023 after crashing into a wall while making a catch at Dodger Stadium.

In 2023, the Yankees went 19-23 while Judge was on the injured list. In 2019, they were 37-17 and 25-20 the previous season without him.

Judge is among six players on the IL, including Giancarlo Stanton (strained right calf). Ryan McMahon (throat infection) and Trent Grisham (strained right hamstring) are expected to return for Friday’s game against Minnesota, though the third baseman was scratched from a minor league rehab game because of food poisoning.

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