Yankees star Aaron Judge to be placed on 10-day IL with flexor strain, UCL intact

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Jul 26, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — Even though Aaron Judge is going on the injured list, the Yankees breathed a sigh of relief on Saturday.

Manager Aaron Boone said the slugger is heading to the IL with a right flexor strain after missing Saturday’s game against the Phillies. Boone found out before the 9-4 loss, as Judge underwent an MRI, received a PRP injection and visited with the Yankees’ team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad.

Boone called the diagnosis “a big deal,” but also “good news,” as Judge’s ulnar collateral ligament is intact. The manager’s hope is that Judge will only need 10 days on the IL and that he will start swinging a bat “a few days” from now.

Once Judge comes off the IL, the plan is for him to only DH initially. He won’t throw for 10-14 days. From there, he will ramp up before returning to the outfield.

“We expect him to recover,” Boone said when asked if Judge will have to deal with this for the rest of the season.

Judge, meanwhile, felt “upset” and like he is “letting the team down,” but he noted that his injury “could’ve been worse.” Boone said that had Judge continued to play the outfield and throw, he would have “put the UCL in jeopardy.”

Judge’s health first became a concern on Tuesday in Toronto, as cameras caught him wincing and clutching his right hand in a fist after making a seventh-inning throw. Judge then DH’d on Wednesday, which Boone said was a predetermined plan.

When the New York Daily News asked Judge about his wince on Wednesday, he replied, “I make facial expressions all the time.” He also said that he didn’t come out of Tuesday’s game and that he’s DH’d when the Yankees have played at the turfed Rogers Centre in the past.

On Saturday, Judge said he actually first felt an issue in Tuesday’s game when he threw a rocket to home plate in a failed attempt to gun down George Springer during the sixth inning. However, he didn’t consider coming out of the game.

“I gotta hit,” Judge said.

Judge homered as a DH on Wednesday, and he felt fine during Thursday’s off day. However, his elbow bothered him in Friday’s loss to the Phillies, as he lobbed several throws in from right field.

“I couldn’t throw past 60 feet,” said Judge, who has never had any elbow issues in the past.

Hitting is less of an issue for Judge, which is why he initially wanted to forego an IL stint and start DH’ing right away. However, Boone said Judge isn’t “perfect” swinging the bat just yet and that not providing the 33-year-old with some downtime would delay the healing process.

With Judge set to only DH once he’s back, Boone said Giancarlo Stanton will start getting some work in the outfield. The DH hasn’t played defense since 2023, but he said he’s down for whatever helps the Yankees win.

“I believe that’s going to be for me to be in the outfield,” Stanton continued. “I’ll be working out there this coming week and be ready when needed.”