New York Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge. Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Yankees manager provides major update on Aaron Judge's injury

By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated Jul 26, 2025 5:27 PM ET

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge missed Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies with an elbow injury, and the slugger is now headed to the injured list.

The Yankees fell 9-4 to the Phillies on Saturday at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y., which marked their third consecutive loss. Judge played in Friday night's 12-5 loss to Philadelphia, but Aaron Boone announced before Saturday's game that Judge was dealing with an "elbow issue" and would sit out.

Following his team's latest loss, Boone shared some new information about Judge's injury. Judge has been diagnosed with a flexor strain, but the Yankees believe he can return in less than two weeks.

When Judge returns to the lineup, Boone said it will initially be as a designated hitter.

Boone said the Yankees believe Judge can return in 10 days. Whenever he comes off the IL, he’ll return as a DH with hopes that he can return to the outfield after a throwing ramp up. Boone said he spoke to Giancarlo Stanton about playing some outfield when Judge returns.
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) July 26, 2025

Judge is having an outstanding season. He entered Saturday batting .342, which is the best mark in baseball. The reigning American League MVP has 37 home runs, 85 RBI and a 1.160 OPS.

The Yankees are now six games behind the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays and fighting to remain atop the wild-card race. It goes without saying that they are hopeful Judge will be able to return as soon as possible.

Steve DelVecchio

Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country

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