Aaron Judge Cleared for Light Activity, Targets a Season Return

Aaron Judge suffered a stress fracture in his right rib while diving for a ball on April 26, 2024, his 34th birthday. After playing through pain for more than a month, he was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 5 and moved to the 60-day injured list on July 18. He has been sidelined since the end of May. Judge is scheduled to begin light workout activity on July 22, 2026, after a follow-up scan cleared him for running and upper-body resistance work. He will need additional imaging before being cleared for hitting and throwing, which he described as “the ultimate test.”

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Judge said he remains confident he will return before the season ends, emphasizing that “healing up” is progress and that the team is “running out of days.” Yankees manager Aaron Boone noted that Judge will likely need more than a spring-training-length ramp-up after such a long absence, but affirmed the slugger’s understanding of the need to be fully healthy before resuming baseball-specific activities.

Yankees' Aaron Judge cleared for light activity, says he will return this season

Since June 1, the Yankees’ offense has ranked 30th in weighted runs created plus (wRC+), 27th in on-base plus slugging (OPS), and 26th in runs scored, reflecting the void left by Judge’s absence. Judge is hitting .248 with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs, though he recorded only one homer in his final 18 games before the injury. The lineup’s struggles, compounded by injuries to Giancarlo Stanton (calf) and Cody Bellinger (hamstring), prompted general manager Brian Cashman to acquire first baseman Luis Garcia Jr. and outfielder Heliot Ramos before the trade deadline.

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• “Oh, I'll be back this season,” — Aaron Judge

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• “I think that's going to be the ultimate test, is hitting,” — Aaron Judge

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• “It's healing up so that's progress you want to see so we can start doing some more testing and see where we're at because we're running out of days,” — Aaron Judge

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• “We got the hitters we wanted," Judge said when asked about the front office's moves.” — Aaron Judge

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