The New York Yankees are waiting on Aaron Judge, but what is the next step?
New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge finally when for the scan we have all been waiting for, and the results are, for the most part, not what fans wanted to hear.
Perhaps wistfully, Yankees fans were hoping to hear that their captain was fully healed and ready to start ramping up to baseball activities, potentially putting him on track for a mid-August return.
But that's not what happened.
The imaging did display some healing for Judge's rib stress fracture, which is obviously a positive. The problem? Judge isn't 100 percent, and he still has no timetable for his return.
Chances are, the three-time MVP won't be back until September, at the earliest, and there is always the possibility that Judge could miss the rest of the season.
This obviously puts New York in a very uncomfortable position with the MLB trade deadline just over two weeks away. Should the Yankees go all in? Should they bother with rentals? Should they only focus on acquiring club-controlled players?
Or, God forbid, should New York even consider selling off some pieces if it slides between now and Aug. 3?
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.The Yankees obviously know better than us whether or not Judge will return, but even they don't have definitive answers just yet. They are also waiting on results from one more doctor to determine the best course of action.
New York also knows that it cannot rush Judge. The Yanks simply cannot send their legend back out there with a less-than-100-percent rib. It just can't happen.
But the Yankees also fully understand that Judge is 34 years old, and we really don't know just how many more great years Judge has left.
Even prior to the rib injury the right fielder suffered in late April (he played through the injury in May), Judge was showing some signs of decline ... by his standards.
New York knows its current window is closing. It's not just Judge. Giancarlo Stanton — who has been sidelined since late April due to a calf injury — is 36. Gerrit Cole is 35. Cody Bellinger, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon are all in their 30s.
The time is now for the Bronx Bombers, who have not won a World Series since 2009 and whose only appearance since then resulted in an embarrassing five-game loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024.
But with every day that Judge misses, with every day the eight-time All-Star goes without a concrete timetable, the tighter and sweatier things get in the Big Apple.
Hopefully, we'll get more of a firm answer on Judge's potential return date in the coming days, but until then, we are just short of panic mode in Yankeeland.
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