Aaron Judge Moved to 60-Day IL as Yankees Await Return

The New York Yankees have officially received another difficult update regarding Aaron Judge, their superstar power hitter.

Judge had already been sidelined with a stress fracture in his right rib, and the team has struggled in his absence since he went down several weeks ago. Now, the Yankees have transferred Judge to the 60-day injured list, meaning he’ll continue to be out well into the second half of the season.

And while the move itself was largely procedural, it’s still significant and speaks to where he is in the recovery process.

It was also announced that Judge is scheduled to undergo another scan on his injured rib, which should provide the Yankees with a better indication of how his recovery is progressing and whether there’s a realistic timetable for his return.

Just because he’s been placed on the 60-day injured list doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to return as soon as he becomes eligible. And for the Yankees, this is about more than just missing Judge.

New York has slipped to second place in the American League East at 54-43, sitting two games behind the Tampa Bay Rays after previously putting together one of the best starts of any team in baseball.

This team is built to compete for a World Series, and accomplishing that without a healthy Aaron Judge becomes exponentially more difficult.

Between now and the end of the season, it’s not only important that the Yankees get Judge back, but that they remain within striking distance of the top spot in the division while he’s out. At the same time, they can’t rush him back. New York needs Judge to be fully healthy and ready to go for what it hopes will be a long postseason run.

So while the 60-day injured list designation doesn’t necessarily signal a setback, it does reinforce that the Yankees could be without their biggest star for quite a while longer.