Yankees put Aaron Judge on injured list with rib stress fracture, recall Spencer Jones from Triple-A

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NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees placed Aaron Judge on the 10-day injured list Friday, a day after announcing the slugger has a stress fracture in one of his ribs that will keep him off the field indefinitely.

The three-time AL MVP will rest and have limited activity before getting re-evaluated and having additional imaging in about four to six weeks. The Yankees said in a statement that Judge is expected to return “at some point this season.”

They recalled Spencer Jones from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre for his second stint with the team to replace Judge.

Jones went 4 for 24 on May 8-21 after being called up to replace Jasson Domínguez, who injured the AC joint in his shoulder while crashing into the left-field fence on a catch against Brandon Nimmo on May 7 against Texas.

Judge underwent a CT scan on Thursday and had an MRI earlier in the week when he met with a specialist. The Yankees initially said Judge had shoulder soreness before clarifying the injury was to a rib on his right side, which was first revealed when Judge underwent testing on Monday, the team’s off day.

Including a stint on the COVID-19 injured list in July 2021, Judge is on the IL for the 10th time since debuting Aug. 13, 2016. He missed 45 games with a fractured right wrist in 2018, 54 games with a strained left oblique in 2019 and 42 games with a fractured toe in 2023 after crashing into a wall while making a catch at Dodger Stadium.

Judge has a rib injury for the second time in his career.

He was diagnosed with a stress fracture in one of his right ribs in March 2020. The injury occurred when he dived for a ball in September 2019, but Judge didn’t miss any time because of the 2020 season being delayed by the pandemic.

The 34-year-old is hitting .248 with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs. But he has just one homer in his last 18 games since May 10 and ended an 11-game homer and RBI drought with a game-ending, two-run drive on May 24 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Judge entered the game against Tampa Bay in a 1-for-24 slump that dropped his batting average to .246. He was hitless in 15 at-bats before singling in the first inning.

Judge won the batting title last season, when he hit a career-high .331 with 53 homers and 114 RBIs in 152 games. He missed 10 games from July 26-Aug. 4 with a flexor strain in his right elbow that he sustained on a throw to home July 22 in Toronto. He underwent a plasma-rich injection and did not require offseason surgery.

Giancarlo Stanton played 17 games in the outfield when Judge was hurt last season. Stanton has been out since April 24 with a strained right calf and started taking live at-bats on the field Wednesday, though he was ruled out for New York’s upcoming road trip.

José Caballero started the first two games against Cleveland and has made four starts in right field since being acquired from Tampa Bay at the July 31 trade deadline. Max Schuemann made his first career start in right field Thursday and made a diving catch on Steven Kwan in the second along with a leaping catch on Brayan Rocchio in the seventh.

Judge had started 52 games in right field. Jones made four starts in right field before getting sent down May 22 and Cody Bellinger has started two games.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB