Aaron Judge Diagnosed With Stress Fracture in His First Rib, Yankees Expect Return This Season
The Yankees had a long, terrifying Thursday before getting some answers on Aaron Judge. The team announced late Thursday night that Judge has been diagnosed with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side, and that he will be reimaged in roughly four to six weeks. The good news is that he is expected to return at some point this season.
Before that diagnosis came down, the day had taken a very alarming turn. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported that Judge had been referred to Dr. Gregory Pearl in Dallas, a physician who specializes in thoracic outlet syndrome. TOS, as it is known, is one of the scariest diagnoses in professional baseball, because it can require surgery and a long recovery, and it has derailed careers.
The referral set off panic among Yankees fans. Stephen Strasburg, Matt Bush, and others have seen their careers significantly altered by TOS, and the idea that Judge might be facing the same path was enough to ruin the day for anyone who pays attention to the Yankees.
The actual diagnosis is far less catastrophic, but it is still serious. A stress fracture of the first rib is uncommon in baseball players. It happens with repetitive overhead motion, and the recovery typically involves rest and gradual return to activity. The four-to-six-week reimaging window suggests the Yankees are looking at a return in late July at the earliest if everything heals on schedule.
For Judge personally, this offseason and now this injury have raised real questions. The 34-year-old reigning back-to-back AL MVP is hitting just .248 with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs through 59 games this season. His .907 OPS is his lowest mark since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, which is a long way from his usual numbers.
If you tie the slow start to the rib injury, things start to make sense. A stress fracture does not happen overnight. It develops over time, and the discomfort can affect a hitter’s swing well before it becomes a full diagnosis. Judge may have been playing through more than he was letting on.
The Yankees can survive a few weeks without Judge if the rest of the lineup picks up. Giancarlo Stanton has been healthy, Anthony Volpe has improved, and the supporting cast is deeper than it has been in years. The bullpen has been an issue, but the offense should not collapse just because Judge is on the shelf.
What worries the Yankees long-term is the recurrence question. Stress fractures can come back, especially if the underlying mechanics that caused them are not addressed. Judge has been a swing-and-miss machine in 2026, and there is at least some chance that he has been compensating for the injury and creating new bad habits.
The AL East is currently being led by the Tampa Bay Rays, with the Yankees just half a game back. The Detroit Tigers just swept Tampa Bay, which says something about how parity has hit the division. If New York can hold serve through the Judge absence, they will be set up well for a strong second half.
For the next month, Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone will be in management mode. They have to keep the team competitive, manage workload across the lineup, and make sure Judge does not come back too early and reaggravate the injury. The reimaging window is the next big checkpoint.
Yankees fans will breathe easier knowing that the worst case scenario is off the table. They will not breathe completely easy until Judge is back in the lineup and looking like himself again.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
