Yankees Insider Reveals Stressful MLB Trade Deadline Update

After an absolutely brutal stretch that lasted around a month, the New York Yankees are riding a four-game winning streak heading into the All-Star break.

The Yankees are still not where they would like to be, sitting in second place in the AL East, but given all of the injuries they've had, it's just about staying afloat for now.

New York is without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon, all of whom are at different stages of their recoveries.

Judge in particular will receive a massive update this week, as the three-time MVP is slated to go for re-imaging on his rib stress fracture during the break.

Judge last played on May 31, and the Yankees have not surprisingly felt his absence in an excruciating way. Couple that with the fact that Stanton has been sidelined since late April, and you can see why the offense has been struggling.

While there is no concrete timetable for Judge's return at the moment, the prevailing thought is that he will be sidelined until mid-to-late August, at the earliest.

But New York will get a much better idea of where Judge after the results come back, and Brendan Kuty of The Athletic has reported that said results will ultimately impact how the Yanks handle the MLB trade deadline.

"One team source said he thought the doctor’s assessment of Judge this week could heavily influence whether the Yankees go all in at the trade deadline or make modest upgrades," Kuty wrote.

The source said that Judge is "the key to everything," which should not come as much of a surprise.

New York has said all along that it expects the 34-year-old to return at some point this season, but if Judge's scan comes back with less than positive results, it could ultimately cause the Yankees to shift gears.

There are two-and-a-half months remaining in the regular season, so if Judge's scan is anything but entirely encouraging, it puts the Bronx Bombers in a pressure cooker.

You also have to wonder if New York is a bit worried about the possibility that Judge will miss the remainder of 2026. The Yanks still hold the first Wild Card spot in the American League and are in the playoffs by a wide margin, so even if Judge can't return until late September, you would still think the Yankees would make some moves.

That is, of course, unless New York feels that Judge might not be back at all, which would obviously change things.

Make no mistake: the Yankees aren't winning a World Series without Judge. They know that. So they surely won't be selling the farm for rentals if they don't think their superstar is going to be back in the lineup at some point within the next couple of months.

For now, Yankees fans can enjoy the short break, but there is no question that there is a very stressful undertone to the festivities.

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