Aaron Judge Injury: What Will Yankees Do if Superstar Misses Time?

New York Yankees fans are holding their breath right now waiting for more information on superstar outfielder Aaron Judge.

When the Yankees revealed their starting lineup for this afternoon's game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Judge was not in it. Immediately, red flags went up considering the two-time MVP winced and appeared to be in some discomfort after making a throw from right field in Tuesday night's game in Toronto.

Judge served as the designated hitter the following night and played right field Friday after an off day Thursday.

Judge looked like he was wincing after tracking down this ball pic.twitter.com/KrZnH9gN5P

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 23, 2025

Yankees manager Aaron Boone met with reporters a short time ago and informed them Judge is dealing with an "elbow issue" and went for imaging. The team is waiting on the test results.

Boone added that Judge felt uncomfortable throwing the ball from right field in last night's loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

“Obviously, you guys asked about it in Toronto, but he felt like it was fine on the off day,” Boone said, via the New York Post. “Then, (Friday) night, he couldn’t really throw from the outfield, so he came in today and got imaging on that. Obviously it’s a concern, but we’ll wait and see.”

Currently, Judge is in the running for the American League Triple Crown and his third league MVP in the last four seasons. He's slashing .342/.449/.711 with 37 home runs, 85 RBI and 90 runs scored in 103 games.

Last night, Judge went 0-for-3 with an RBI sacrifice fly after hitting a two-run home run on Wednesday. The Yankees (56-47) remain in a slump, going just 14-22 in their last 36 games, and while they still occupy the top Wild Card spot in the American League at the moment, it would be disastrous if Judge has to miss time.

If Judge is sidelined, the Yankees could roll with Jasson Dominguez, Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger in the outfield and add help from outside the organization before the July 31 trade deadline. 

More likely, they will use Judge's absence as a reason to promote top prospect Spencer Jones.

????Spencer Jones…again!!!!!!!! 3rd HR of the day!!#RepBx #Yankees pic.twitter.com/vty57Pg3lL

— YankeesFarm (@YankeesFarm) July 24, 2025

Jones, 24, the Yankees' first-round draft pick in 2022, has been on a tear since being promoted to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre late last month. 

In 19 games, the 6-foot-7, 240-pound outfielder is hitting .400/.457/.950 with 13 home runs, 25 RBI and 27 runs scored. Jones hit three home runs in one game on Thursday.

"I've never seen anything like it before," Scranton Wilkes-Barre manager Shelley Duncan told ESPN last week. "I've never seen a player this talented before in my life."

Jones has been the subject of trade rumors, with the Yankees reportedly willing to include him in the right deal. That may change if he's needed at the big league level to replace Judge.

In the meantime, New York will wait and hope their captain's elbow problem isn't as serious as it potentially sounds.