Aaron Judge’s Uncertainty Hangs Over the Yankees

Highlights

• Aaron Judge revealed he will have his elbow evaluated this offseason after missing time in 2025 with a flexor strain.
  
• Judge admitted he doesn’t know whether surgery will be necessary, saying, “I’m not a doctor.”
  
• The injury cost him games in midseason and limited him to DH duty at times.
  

The New York Yankees have a lot of questions after being bounced from yet another October without a World Series championship. 

But, Aaron Judge’s elbow might prove to be the most important story of the Yankees’ winter.

After the Yankees were eliminated Wednesday night, Judge admitted the obvious: his right elbow isn’t fully healed. He played through a flexor strain that cost him nearly two weeks in late July and left his throwing ability compromised for the rest of the season. Asked whether offseason surgery is on the table, Judge shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m not a doctor.”

That uncertainty hangs over a Yankees team already facing difficult decisions about its roster.

The Injury Timeline

Judge first felt discomfort throwing from the outfield in July and was diagnosed with a flexor strain. Tests revealed no UCL damage, sparing him from the specter of Tommy John surgery. Still, he was placed on the injured list on July 27 and did not return until Aug. 5, at first limited to designated hitter. Even when he moved back into the outfield, manager Aaron Boone conceded that Judge’s throws “probably wouldn’t be like he normally does” for the rest of the year.

Statcast bore that out. Judge’s average throwing velocity dipped noticeably after the injury, and his range was limited. His bat, however, remained a force.

Elite Numbers Despite the Setback

Judge put together another MVP-caliber campaign in 2025: a league-leading .331 batting average, 53 home runs, 114 RBIs, and an OPS north of 1.140. He also passed Yogi Berra on the Yankees’ all-time home run list, continuing to climb into franchise lore.

The splits tell the story of how resilient he was. 

Before the injury, Judge produced at a historic pace, slugging nearly .700 with a barrel rate over 23 percent. After his return, his average dipped slightly and the power lagged for several weeks, though he recovered down the stretch and in October looked closer to himself at the plate. The arm never fully followed.