Aaron Judge Diagnosed With Right Rib Stress Fracture, Yankees Expect Him to Return This Season

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge suffered a stress fracture in his right rib after diving for a ball against the Houston Astros on April 26. Judge said the injury occurred on his 34th birthday during a catch attempt in shallow right field. He added that a wall collision while making a catch against the Baltimore Orioles on May 3 did not help the condition.

Judge played through discomfort for more than a month. He limited his swings before finishing the Yankees' three-game series against the Athletics 2-for-12 at the plate in Sacramento. The pain became unbearable over the weekend, prompting him to inform manager Aaron Boone of the issue for the first time.

Judge underwent X-rays, a CT scan and an MRI this week. He will be shut down from baseball activities before additional imaging in four to six weeks. The Yankees expect him to return this season, though Judge declined to discuss a timetable.

"Very disappointed," Judge said Friday before the Yankees' series opener against the Boston Red Sox. " Judge said he first noticed symptoms about a month earlier and worked to stay on the field. "In Sacramento, it just got a little worse," he said.

He insisted he never believed he was dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome, which would likely have ended his season. The injury sits near the same spot as a stress fracture Judge suffered while diving for a ball in September 2019. He played through that injury for the rest of the season and was not diagnosed with the fracture and a partially collapsed lung until March 2020.

He missed no games that year because the season start was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. New York general manager Brian Cashman said Judge playing through the injury "probably" made it worse. Judge said he does not regret staying in the lineup.