Aaron Judge Injury Update: Yankees Star Close To Returning?

The cloud hovering over the Yankees’ 2026 season could soon be lifted as there is increasing chatter that Aaron Judge could be back in the New York lineup soon. Judge has been out since May 31 with a stress fracture in his right first rib.

Below, we will deliver a Judge injury update and examine the latest information on his potential MLB return.

Aaron Judge return update: Yankees star close to being back?
Judge believes the injury initially occurred while diving for a ball on April 26 against the Astros. He played through it for a month, but it became a real issue during the Yankees’ weekend series in Sacramento against the Athletics May 29 to May 31.

The Yankees have maintained that Judge is likely to return this season, albeit sometimes with high confidence, and sometimes with low confidence.

Judge has recently begun hitting off a tee, is running, and is doing strength workouts.

“The biggest thing for him now is kind of building up the body to get back in playing shape, where he wasn’t allowed to do much for that first month, especially. So it’s more getting the body up to speed as much as anything,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told SNY on Sunday.

Two people - the NY Post’s Joel Sherman and Yankees broadcaster Suzyn Waldman - have suggested that Judge could return just prior to the Yankees’ home subway series against the Mets, which starts on Friday, September 11.

A Thursday, September 10 return at Yankee Stadium against the Colorado Rockies, would make a lot of sense. The Yankees - Mets series that begins the next night will be a highly emotional game considering it will take place on the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

Bringing Judge back the night before as his “return game” would ease him back into the fold.

Here is a look at the Yankees schedule around that time.

Yankees odds
The Yankees are currently 74-56 on the season and are 3.5 games back of the Rays for first place in the American League East. Boone’s club is more or less a lock to make the MLB playoffs as they are 9 games up on the Guardians, who currently occupy the final Wild Card slot in the AL.

New York currently has +750 World Series odds at Fanatics Sportsbook. The Brewers have the same number.

Only the Dodgers have shorter odds than the Yankees and Brewers as LA is +170 to win it all.

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