Aaron Judge Injury Update Provided By Yankees' Brian Cashman Ahead of MLB All-Star Break

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman provided some insight Thursday into the team's plans regarding injured superstar outfielder Aaron Judge.

Judge has not played since May 31 and he has been on the injured list since June 5 due to a stress fracture in his rib.

Speaking Thursday to reporters, Cashman divulged that Judge will have his rib tested during the All-Star break, which starts Monday. Cashman added that Judge will not begin ramping up for a return until scans show healing and he is no longer experiencing symptoms.

"I don't think we want to put him at risk of coming back while still injured," Cashman said. "He should be asymptomatic before we turn him loose.

"If he's asymptomatic and not feeling anything and [medical images] are showing healing, then it's probably appropriate to get him going again. But we don't want to, because the schedule is what it is, put him in a position where we're putting him in jeopardy where it somehow gets worse."

Cashman also provided an update on designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who has been on the IL since April 27 with a calf strain.

The GM told reporters that Stanton "had a whole new injury" last month in the form of a calf strain in a different area.

As a result, Stanton has only recently started running again and received PRP injections.

Judge has been named American League MVP in each of the past two and three of the past four seasons, but the injury has limited him 59 games thus far in 2026.

The injury seemingly contributed to Judge putting up numbers that didn't quite match his usual output, but he was still slashing a respectable .248/.375/.533 with 17 home runs and 38 RBI before landing on the IL.

Judge finished three of the previous four seasons with at least 50 home runs. The lone exception was 2023 when he hit 37 after injuries limited him to 106 games.

The Yankees have gone just 15-19 with Judge out of the lineup, which is no surprise given his status as the offensive anchor.

They have had an especially tough time offensively lately, losing 11 of their past 13 games prior to Thursday's contest. They also hadn't scored more than five runs in a game since June 17, although the Yanks did surpass that number with an offensive explosion against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.

While the Yankees began their slide in first place in the American League East, they are now four games behind the Rays.

Even so, they are seven games ahead of the third-place Toronto Blue Jays and five games up on a wild-card spot, giving them the ability to take a cautious approach with Judge.

New York still has a talented lineup led by All-Stars Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger, but Judge and Stanton returning would provide a massive boost for the second half of the season.

There is still no specific timeline for Judge's return, although the Yankees did announce when he was placed on the IL that he would receive imaging in four-to-six weeks and was expected to return at some point this season.