Ending their championship drought since 2009 by winning the World Series has been the New York Yankees’ primary goal this season. Aaron Judge has also spoken about tying up “unfinished business” multiple times during the offseason. However, as the captain remains sidelined for the foreseeable future with a rib injury, an MLB insider has handed the Yankees a reality check about the team without its captain.

“If Aaron Judge does not come back and come back well, the Yankees are not winning a World Series,” said a brutally honest Joel Sherman of the New York Post. “Like they could have the greatest deadline in the history of baseball. Like they need Aaron Judge. Everything feels different. If you’ve noticed, they’ve been unplugged in the first inning like two months. They used to be a first-inning, take-the-lead team. They go down 1,2,3 in 10 pitches now almost every game.”

Aaron Judge has not played a game since May 31, when the Yankees were 36-23 and second in the AL East. The Yankees placed him on the injured list with a stress fracture in his right first rib. At the time of his injury, Judge was batting .248 with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs.

The Yankees have managed to keep their ship afloat, alternating between winning and losing streaks in Judge’s absence. Currently in second place in the AL East, they have managed to hold on to an AL Wild Card spot without him. During that span, the Yankees have gone 19-21, while their team batting average has dropped to .226.

With Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both on the injured list, the Yankees’ offense has suffered significantly. They have also struggled to put up big numbers on the scoreboard. In Judge’s absence, the Yankees have scored 162 runs. In his segment, Sherman highlighted Judge’s impact on the Yankees’ offense, particularly in the first inning.

“And you know we’re talking about a guy, Judge has a career, he has over 90 homers in the first inning,” Sherman revealed, per the New York Post Sports. “He has over a .400 on-base percentage in the first inning. So, like, you now hardly ever get a 1,2,3 first inning against the Yankees to open. Like they always put some duress on the pitcher, and Judge could put points on the board right away.”

It shows just how important Judge is to the Yankees, and his impact on the lineup extends beyond scoring runs. He is also one of the clubhouse leaders. Four weeks after his injury, Judge was supposed to undergo re-imaging and receive a timeline for his return. But it has been more than a month, and the Yankees are yet to receive one. As the Yankees await Judge’s return, they will face the Pittsburgh Pirates for their second series of the second half of the season.