Yankees Facing Backlash for Aaron Judge Decision

Judge had cooled to a .189 batting average and a .592 OPS in his last 14 games, a slump that tracked the injury in hindsight.

Judge told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch that he believes he hurt the rib during a late-April game against the Houston Astros , diving for a pop fly. He played through it for more than a month and did not flag it to manager Aaron Boone until the pain worsened. during a series against the Athletics. Boone pulled him from the May 31 finale after noticing his swings were off.

"Big G's hurt, Max Fried's hurt," Judge said. "We had a lot of guys banged up. You've got to be out there. That's what they're paying me to do, to go out there and play."

Fans on X.com aimed their frustrations at the Yankees.

One fan said, "If he would've been IL'd by then he would've been ready by now. Such a disgrace this. They weren't good in May."

Another said, "This isn’t October. We’re talking about essentially meaningless regular season games."

"Different between being banged up and hurt. Now he will miss 4-6 weeks at best. Stupid logic and this Yankee medical staff needs to be investigated bc they are clueless and terrible," another added.

The Yankees built a run-it-back roster around their captain, and an extended absence leaves Boone leaning on Jones and a thinned-out lineup to stay near the top of the AL East until the team learns more about Judge's status.