Aaron Judge‘s shoulder injury on Tuesday marks the Yankees’ third major absence in weeks. The team struggled significantly during Judge’s IL stint in late July 2025, posting a 4-6 record. During his 10-day absence due to a right elbow flexor strain, the team’s offense scored just .230. So, the Bleacher Creatures know what it means to miss Judge, and they are facing the same as the Yankees captain is benched on Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians.

“Aaron Judge is out of the lineup today due to shoulder soreness. He had imaging last night, and the Yankees are hopeful that it is a day-to-day situation,” SNY Yankees shared via X.

Initially, there was no update about Aaron Judge’s injury, and it seemed the Yankees offered an extra day off to their captain. However, things changed after manager Aaron Boone’s latest revelation.

“He’s been, the last couple of weeks, dealing with some shoulder soreness, just kind of nagging,” Aaron Boone noted. “And then over the weekend, the last couple of games in Sacramento, I think it became a little more than that, where I noticed on some swings and stuff… So, we got some imaging last night. We think overall good news, showing a bone bruise. He’s going to meet with the doctor tonight, so hopefully, a day-to-day situation. Could be a few days, or it could be longer. I don’t know for sure.”

While Judge is not hitting the IL right now, he will definitely be missing a few consecutive games due to a bone bruise near his right rib cage.

“Judge is to meet with the team doctors today. Boone described the injury as more in the right clavicle area. Said could be a few days … or longer depending on the doctor’s report,” MLB insider Joel Sherman shared.

That comes as the worst possible news for Yankees fans amid Judge’s ongoing struggle.

Aaron Judge finished May with an .805 OPS, which is much lower than his career 1.022 OPS. Moreover, Judge played 28 games last month but managed only 5 homers and a .243 average. Since his homer against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 24, he has yet to score another.

While we cannot tie any specific play to this injury, these issues explain things a bit.

The Yankees’ Tuesday lineup had Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, and Jose Caballero in the outfield. Ben Rice took up the DH role while Austin Wells went back to his catcher duties.

In Tuesday’s game, only Paul Goldschmidt homered and knocked in all four runs for the Yankees, who lost to the Guardians 9-4. This was only their second loss in the last eight games.

The Yankees are currently lagging offensively.

They are now ranked 13th in terms of average (.243). And the worst part is their expanding IL.

Giancarlo Stanton is on a 10-day IL with a right calf strain, and his return is delayed. Jasson Dominguez is on a 10-day IL with a sprained left AC joint following a violent collision with the outfield wall. Now, after Aaron Judge’s absence, we fear what the Yankees’ numbers at the plate would look like.

While the Yanks are just one game behind their division-leading Rays, with a 36-24 record, their record without the Judge is alarming. Between 2021 and 2025, they went 40-49 without their captain, scoring only 357 runs and 104 HRs. Right now, his team is standing second in the AL East, but how can we forget the way this team faltered back in 2023 after his June injury!

They posted their lowest BA (.218), the lowest on-base percentage (.288), and the third-fewest runs (117) that season. With Judge, the New York Yankees were cruising at 35-25, and went 19-23 during his IL stint. With an 82-80 finish, it cemented their first non-playoff campaign since Judge broke into the majors and since 2016.

Enough for Yankees fans to hit the panic button.

Yankees Nation is left hopeless without Aaron Judge

Fans can’t help but fear for the team’s biggest hope being missed. “Probably injured it carrying this freaking team for so long,” one fan remarked. The recent game against the Rays proved this statement.

Both teams were deadlocked in a scoreless pitching duel heading into the bottom of the 9th inning. With a runner on base, Judge broke his temporary home run drought by crushing a dramatic, two-run walk-off home run deep into right-center field. Because the Yankees’ offense had failed to score all afternoon, Judge accounted for 100% of the team’s runs with one swing, securing a 2-0 win.

The longest-running engine tends to have frequent wear and tear, and Aaron Judge is no exception.

“I see an IL stint because they’re not going to play around with it. Day to Day is just bulls—,” another fan wrote. “Put him on the IL, why tempt fate,” one agreed. Fans recall Aaron Judge’s injury back in 2023.

Judge reportedly made a running catch against the concrete base of the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium, visibly shaking up his right foot. Boone initially minimized the severity, suggesting it was minor foot soreness and listing Judge as “day-to-day.” However, further tests revealed that Aaron Judge had actually torn a ligament, specifically damaging the MTP joint and surrounding tissue in his right big toe, causing a two-month absence.

Hopefully, this time, there won’t be anything like that. “This is gonna be till the All-Star break, I’m sure of it,” yet one fan speculated the worst.

“Collapse begins,” the biggest worry of any Yankees fan. After that 2023 mishap, the Yankees failed to secure a postseason berth, which was an unreal downfall from their contention with Aaron Judge in the lineup.

In 2020’s COVID-shortened season, Aaron Judge was sidelined with a stress fracture to the same rib, an injury originating from a diving catch attempt in September 2019. Had it not been a pandemic situation, the captain would’ve definitely been sidelined. While he healed without surgery back then, the fear is real this time.