By Ross Kelly
The New York Yankees dropped their third straight game on Saturday, falling 9–4 to the Philadelphia Phillies. However, that defeat, and the losing streak, is nothing compared to the bad news the team announced shortly after falling to the Phillies. Manager Aaron Boone said that star outfielder Aaron Judge will go on the 10-day injured list due to an elbow injury that’s been bothering him since Tuesday.
Judge was not in the lineup for Saturday’s game but had played in New York’s prior two games since injuring his elbow. He first felt the pain during the seventh inning of Tuesday’s 5–4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on a flyout by Alejandro Kirk. As a Blue Jays runner tagged from second base to third, Judge made a throw into the infield and then winced afterwards. He could then be seen clenching his right hand in a fist but stayed in the game.
He was then New York’s designated hitter the following day—which was planned by Boone—and he also launched his 37th home run of the season as the ailment isn’t affecting him much at the plate. After the Yankees had Thursday off, Judge returned to right field in Friday’s loss before the Yankees made the decision to shut him down.
Boone said that Judge will have 10 days to two weeks of no throwing and will serve as the Yankees’ designated hitter upon his return to the lineup.
“He has a flexor strain. No acute injury to the UCL, so, overall, we got some good news,” Boone said on Saturday. “It is going to require an IL stint, with the thought that, hopefully, it’s right at about those 10 days and those first few days coming off [the IL], probably in a DH mode.
“Then, he’ll start throwing and hopefully get back to the outfield shortly thereafter.”
Boone also mentioned that once Judge returns to the lineup as DH, that will then possibly shift Giancarlo Stanton to the outfield. Stanton, who didn’t make his 2025 debut until June 16 due to his own injuries, has not played in the outfield since the 2023 season.
“Stanton will probably start to get some work out there in the outfield, just to see if it needs to be an option once we get to that point when Aaron’s back,” revealed Boone. “So we’ll start working that in this week but nothing imminent with it.”
The Yankees’ skipper said that Judge is okay but not perfect when he’s swinging the bat with the injury. However, the thought of him simply powering through it and solely playing DH would then slow down the healing process.
Saturday’s game was the first Yankees game all year that Judge did not play, as the Yankees had no incentive whatsoever to not have him in the lineup. He leads the American League in a myriad of categories, including runs scored (90), hits (129), RBI (85), and batting average (.342). Already a two-time MVP, Judge is heavily favored to win his third award, though this stint on the injured list would seem to narrow the odds between him and everyone else.
This is Judge’s first stint on the injured list since 2023, when he served two different periods on the IL. The first lasted the minimum of 10 days due to a hip strain, while the second saw him miss 42 games due to a toe injury.
With the MLB Trade Deadline on Thursday, the Yankees may now suddenly be in the market for another outfielder if this injury for Judge lingers and lasts longer than anticipated. The team had just made a move roughly 24 hours before announcing Judge was headed to the IL when New York traded for Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies. McMahon, 30, is a third baseman who was an All-Star in 2024, and for those fans of the pinstripes wondering, McMahon has no prior experience in the majors or minors in playing the outfield.
With Judge sidelined, Cody Bellinger drew the start in right field in Saturday’s game and would presumably be the team’s starting right fielder until Judge is healthy enough to return. Bellinger, the 2019 NL MVP, has played all three outfield positions for New York this season, in addition to first base. He and Judge were the only players on New York’s 25-man roster to see any time in right field this season.
The latest defeat dropped New York to 56-48 on the season and six games behind the Toronto Blue Jays, who sit atop the AL East. The Yankees are still in the top Wild Card spot in the league, leading the Seattle Mariners by one game. Judge will miss, at a minimum, the final game of the series versus Philadelphia, plus a four-game set versus the Tampa Bay Rays, a three-game series versus the Miami Marlins, and two games versus the Texas Rangers. All of those teams except the Marlins currently have records above .500.
