Yankees’ Aaron Judge reveals the real reason he played through injury for over 1 month

Effective leaders are often those who will make sacrifices for the good of their team, and New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge was more than willing to do so if it meant his club would have a chance to have a successful campaign.

The three-time American League MVP recently revealed why he tried to play through a stress fracture in his right rib that now has him sidelined. It is suspected that he initially suffered the ailment during a late April contest against the Houston Astros.

“Big G’s hurt, Max Fried’s hurt. We had a lot of guys banged up,” Judge told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com “You’ve got to be out there. That’s what they’re paying me to do, to go out there and play.”

Giancarlo Stanton has been out with a right calf strain, and Fried has not pitched since May due to a left elbow bone bruise. Before the injury, Judge was enjoying a strong season that included 17 home runs, 38 RBIs, and a .908 OPS. Across 152 games in 2026, the California native bashed 53 long balls and posted a 1.145 OPS.

The organization has not offered a timetable for when Judge could return.

“We’re intentionally trying to not put out any guesstimate, because that’s what it would be, is a guesstimate,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told SNY ahead of Friday’s game against the Boston Red Sox. “We just have to let the thing heal and then after that, we can map out a runway.”

The Yankees are 37-25 and will attempt to remain competitive in the AL East while Judge recovers.

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