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New York Yankees outfielder and reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge is out of Saturday’s lineup and is awaiting results on imaging performed on his right elbow. Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Saturday described the injury as an “elbow issue” to reporters, including Joel Sherman. 

Judge during Friday’s series opener against the Phillies struggled to make throws from right field, and Tuesday he was seen grimacing in apparent pain after making a throw in that game against the Blue Jays: 

Boone did not indicate the suspected severity of the injury, but the imaging results should provide more information once the Yankees and Judge receive them. 

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Needless to say, the loss of Judge for any length of time would be a grave blow to the Yankees. This season, Judge has positioned himself as the frontrunner to win the AL MVP for the third time in his career. Through 103 games played, he’s slashing .342/.449/.771 with 37 home runs. He leads the majors in OPS, OPS+, WAR, total bases, and hits. A significant absence on Judge’s part could quite obviously alter the Yankees’ deadline plans. Just recently, they added third baseman Ryan McMahon in a trade with the Rockies. 

The 33-year-old Judge has dealt with injuries of various types throughout his 10-year career in the majors. However, he played in 158 games last season, and that’s not counting his 14 games played in the postseason as the Yankees claimed the pennant. Saturday’s absence will be his first missed game of the 2025 season. 

The Yankees enter Saturday with a record of 56-47 and an AL-best run differential of plus-99. They trail the first-place Blue Jays in the AL East by 5 ½ games but presently occupy the top wild-card spot in the AL.