Yankees' silence on the Aaron Judge injury front is facilitating dark thoughts

Yankees fans have been waiting all day. They've been unwell for 24 hours now. Aaron Judge's injury situation has everybody in limbo. Even though it was no surprise he was left out of Wednesday's lineup, it doesn't help that there's no meaningful update just yet.

Judge is dealing with a bone bruise in his upper rib area that's also affecting his shoulder. It's been bothering him for weeks, but he continued to play in every game and didn't undergo imaging until Tuesday.

After his MRI, Judge met with team doctors to seemingly determine next steps. After Tuesday's game, Aaron Boone said Judge would be meeting with a specialist, which would suggest there's something a bit more concerning afoot and another medical opinion is needed.

On Wednesday when addressing reporters, Boone said that there is no update and the doctors are still reviewing Judge's images. Boone added that he hopes there will be more information later tonight, but he's unsure.

All this is doing is chipping away at the mental state of Yankees fans. We know this isn't purposeful, but there's something to be said about Yankees injury situations always being complicated, inconclusive, drawn out, and painful.

It happened recently with Giancarlo Stanton, who was "day-to-day" after suffering a calf injury on April 28. He hasn't played since and probably won't be back for at least another 10 days. It happened with Max Fried, who left his start on May 13 with elbow pain. He was "hopeful" he'd make his next start. He hasn't pitched since and there have barely been updates on his status.

It happened last year with Anthony Volpe, who injured himself on May 3, played through it, and slumped horribly before fans learned he was getting secret cortisone shots to address the pain. He underwent surgery for a torn labrum in the offseason.

Remember Judge's forearm issue in 2024 that the team tried to sweep under the rug? How about the fractured rib and collapsed lung that blindsided fans back in 2020? Can you understand why fans don't exactly exude confidence on the injury front with this team?

The longer the silence persists, the more dark thoughts will creep in. At this point, it's hard to believe Judge won't at least need an IL stint. Whenever the Yankees claim somebody is day-to-day, it ends up being a three-week injury,

But the thought of this being more serious than that is what fans won't be able to handle. The Yankees have been good this year, yes, but they still have their flaws. They can't keep shuffling guys in and out of the lineup. That's how the offense goes stagnant and fails to find a rhythm. They can't keep losing their biggest thumpers at the same time. And they can't be without Judge for one of their toughest stretches of the season.

Judge has largely been healthy since 2021, and he's given the Yankees a generational run ever since. Fans are greatly appreciative of that because they were reminded what life looks like without him in 2023 when he fractured his toe and the house of cards collapsed.

This isn't that same roster, but there are still far too many below-average hitters present to pick up the pace with Judge and Stanton out. This is where it hurts to have Jasson Dominguez on the shelf, too. We're hoping for the best, but we can't say we're already fearing something far worse.

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