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Yankees provide big injury updates on Aaron Judge, Carlos Rodon
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Yankees provide big injury updates on Aaron Judge, Carlos Rodon

The New York Yankees are barely past the 2025 season, but there's already big injury news that is expected to impact the franchise to start the 2026 season.

In his postseason news conference on Thursday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that starting pitcher Carlos Rodon had undergone elbow surgery to "get some loose bodies and I think they shaved down a bone spur." With the procedure, Boone went on to say that the 32-year-old Rodon would likely be delayed in his debut on the mound in 2026.

"For now, he's eight weeks no throw and then he'll start his ramping up in the middle of December," Boone told reporters.

The news is significant for a pitcher who tied for the team lead in starts this season with 33 and finished second behind Max Fried with 18 wins. His 6.1 hits allowed per nine innings led all American League pitchers.

It's also significant as fellow starter Gerrit Cole is still recovering from Tommy John surgery, with Boone saying that Cole is expected to throw off the mound "lightly" next week. Boone added that the hope is that Cole will face live hitters at some point during 2026 spring training.

Aaron Judge injury update

On another front, Boone told reporters that MVP candidate Aaron Judge will not need elbow surgery and will not only work on getting past the right elbow flexor strain but also rehab and strengthen the elbow so it hopefully won't be an issue in 2026.

"[Judge] is not [having surgery]. He actually had an MRI after the season, it showed continued improvement in the flexor muscles. He finished the season doing pretty well, so no surgery is going to be needed for Aaron," Boone said.

Judge finished the season strong, slashing .500/.581/.692 with a home run and seven RBI in the Yankees' postseason run across two series. Now, the plan is to see how Judge can start the 2026 season at 100 percent, Boone added.

"He'll take some time off and continue to do strengthening things and rehab and stuff. Felt like he finished the season in a pretty good place, as we saw continued improvements with him," Boone said.

Kevin Henry

A member of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), Kevin Henry has been covering MLB and MiLB for nearly two decades. Those assignments have included All-Star Games and the MLB postseason, including the World Series. Based in the Denver area, Kevin calls Coors Field his home base, but travels throughout North America during the season to discover the best stories possible

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