New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge is out of Tuesday's lineup against the Cleveland Guardians due to a bone bruise in his rib, manager Aaron Boone revealed.
Judge had been playing through "some more shoulder soreness" over the last few weeks, Boone said, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Imaging taken Monday revealed a bruise in the lower front shoulder and rib area, per SNY's Chelsea Janes.
It’s a bone bruise on Aaron Judge’s upper right rib that he’s feeling through his right shoulder, Yankees clarify.
— Brendan Kuty 🧟♂️ (@BrendanKutyNJ) June 2, 2026
"He's been, kinda the last couple weeks, kind of dealing with some shoulder soreness. Just kind of more nagging," Boone told reporters, per SNY. "And then over the weekend, last couple games in Sacramento, I think (it) became a little more than that, where I noticed with some swings and stuff, so it became a little more than just that nagging. I think it was affecting him."
For now, Judge is being listed as day-to-day, and Boone sounded optimistic about the reigning AL MVP's status overall. However, the skipper emphasized that any possible timeline for a return could change after he meets with doctors later Tuesday.
"We think overall (it's) good news. ... Hopefully it's a day-to-day situation," Boone said. "Could be a few days, could be longer. I don't know for sure. Kinda based on how he's feeling day by day. But hopefully we avoided something serious."
"Hopefully it's something we just get calmed down here and put it behind us," he added, according to Janes.
Tuesday will be the first game Judge has missed this season. The 34-year-old is off to another stellar start in 2026, hitting .248/.375/.533 with 17 homers and 38 RBIs across 261 plate appearances. However, his production has slowed of late, as he owns a .564 OPS with just one homer and 14 strikeouts over the last two weeks.
Judge spent 10 days on the injured list last season with an elbow issue that forced him to DH for an extended period. He's generally been in good health otherwise, appearing in at least 145 games in all but one of the last five seasons.
José Caballero will take Judge's spot in right field and bat eighth Tuesday against Cleveland. This will be the versatile Caballero's 39th career appearance in right field, a position he hadn't played at all until last season. Amed Rosario, who was reinstated from the paternity list Tuesday, will draw in at third base and hit in the cleanup slot.
