Aaron Boone does not see a world in which the New York Yankees finish the season with Aaron Judge on the injured list.
A serious rib injury has kept Judge out of the Yankees lineup since the end of May. Judge stated last week that he believes he suffered the injury while making a diving play during an April contest against the Houston Astros, and continued to play through the pain for a month.
Judge also declined to provide a timetable for his return, which has understandably raised concern among Yankees fans.
On Tuesday, Boone explained that the lack of a timeline does not mean Judge is in danger of missing the rest of the 2026 campaign. He was asked by the New York Post’s Jon Heyman whether the Yankees skipper was confident in Judge returning this season.
“Yes, yeah, and [Judge is] very confident,” Boone answered.
Boone was asked to explain the confidence despite the team not providing a target date for his return.
“Just the nature of the injury and hearing the doctors talk,” he added. “We just haven’t put a timeline on it because we don’t want to do that and miss the target or make the target or anything like that. I think there’s pretty strong confidence that he’ll be back and fully healthy.”
Judge was a surprise scratch from the Yankees’ lineup during a June 1 contest against the Cleveland Guardians due to what was initially listed as a shoulder injury. There were clear signs that neither Judge nor the Yankees initially knew what was truly bothering the 3-time MVP.
Any timeline would be better than no timeline when it comes to the sanity of the Yankees faithful eagerly awaiting the return of their star slugger. But Boone’s comments should alleviate any doomsday-level fears some fans may have about Judge’s injury.
