Aaron Judge has another injury concern, which exposes an even bigger problem for the New York Yankees.
New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge returned from a rib stress fracture on Sept. 8 after missing over three months with the injury. He managed just three hits in his first 20 at-bats after returning before blasting a three-run home run against the Minnesota Twins on Monday.
Judge was then given a rather frustrating off day on Tuesday, just when he appeared to be getting into a rhythm.
Then, on Wednesday, it happened.
Judge was seen grimacing during his second plate appearance of the day against the Twins in the third inning. Three innings later, he was out of the game.
Judge's removal was a mystery for about an hour, so the natural concern was that the three-time AL MVP re-aggravated his rib injury.
Thankfully, Judge's ribs are fine, but he did exit due to lower leg tightness, which we can only assume means a calf injury (neither Judge nor Aaron Boone elaborated much).
Judge even said that he first felt something in the first inning, but decided to play through it right up until the sixth inning when Heliot Ramos pinch hit for him.
It's irritating that Judge didn't say something sooner, as he may have done even more damage to his leg by remaining in right field. And now, his status for the next few games is in question.
Fortunately, the Yankees have an off day Thursday, but whether or not he will be available for New York's weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks remains to be seen.
Obviously, Judge's new injury is a problem in and of itself with the playoffs just around the corner, but it also exposes an overarching problem for the team: Judge's age.
Judge is 34 years old, and he'll be 35 by next April. Giancarlo Stanton — who has been sidelined since April with calf issues of his own — turns 37 in a couple of months. Gerrit Cole just turned 36. Cody Bellinger, Max Friend and Carlos Rodon are all in their 30s.
This is an old team, and it might be breaking down right before our eyes.
And for all of the talk about how injury-prone Stanton has been, Judge is not far behind. Judge missed extensive time in 2018, 2019 and 2020. He was sidelined for a huge chunk of 2023. And now, he's missed most of 2026.
If not for Stanton's even more frequent visits to the IL, we would be talking far more about Judge's penchant for getting injured.
It further illustrates how short the window of opportunity is for this Yankees squad, which absolutely would be a major threat to the Los Angeles Dodgers if it were healthy. The problem is that the Yanks are never healthy, and at this point, age has a lot to do with it.
This is a very good baseball team that just can't seem to hold it together. Every time someone returns from injury, another player succumbs to one. It has been a vicious cycle all season and throughout a better part of the last decade, and now, it has reached a crescendo.
Hopefully, this issue ends up being minor for Judge and he can play unfettered this October. But it doesn't hide the fact that his body is aging right before our eyes, and when it comes to the Yankees, he isn't the only one. Far from it.
