Aaron Judge hasn't played since late May, and every time the calendar flips a page, the update sounds the same: not quite there yet. Jon Heyman's latest check-in confirmed Judge has made some progress but still isn't fully healed, with the medical staff waiting on more doctors before signing off on anything.
Jon Heyman's first update of the day laid out where Judge's recovery actually stands.
Judge: Some progress but not fully healed. Waiting on more doctors.
The injury itself dates back further than most fans realize. Judge said the pain started with a diving catch on April 26 in Houston, then got worse crashing into the wall in Baltimore on May 3. The Yankees put him on the injured list in early June once imaging revealed a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side, and the club set a 4-to-6-week window before the next scan would even happen. That window has clearly stretched.
Heyman's follow-up made it worse before it made it better. Judge hasn't healed well enough to resume baseball activities and will need to be reimaged yet again, pushing any real return timeline further out. That's a notable step back from a guy the Yankees hoped could be ramping up by now.
Heyman's second post of the day delivered the tougher news: no baseball activities yet, and another scan is coming.
Judge hasn’t healed well enough to resume baseball activities. Will need to be reimaged. Aaron Boone said he still feels good about Judge’s chance to play this season
The one bit of stability in all this is Aaron Boone, who reportedly still feels good about Judge's chances to play this season despite the setback. That matches how the team has talked about this injury from the jump, treating it as a matter of when rather than if. For context, this isn't Judge's first rodeo with this exact rib. He fractured the same first rib diving for a ball back in September 2019, played through it into that postseason, and later found out he'd also punctured a lung. The Yankees are clearly not eager to repeat that gamble with their captain in 2026.
Right now the Yankees are just trying to survive the outfield hole without their best hitter, and every few days brings another version of the same headline: progress, but not enough. Until Judge actually gets cleared to swing a bat again, an August return is still the optimistic case, not a guarantee.