Fantasy Baseball Impact of Aaron Judge’s Stress Fracture Injury

We usually start days by going over fantasy baseball waiver wire targets, but we have some major injury news that was revealed last night to discuss first today.

Let's discuss Aaron Judge's injury and what it means in the real world and for fantasy baseball.

Fantasy baseball injury news can be found all season on FantasySP.

The Injury, Timeline and Stats

Judge, the Yankees' best player and one of the top players in the game today, has missed time of late with a nagging injury. He has been diagnosed with a stress fracture of his first rib on his right side.

He will miss at least 4-6 weeks, getting re-imaged sometime in that timeframe. Judge is expected to return at some point this season.

Injuries have hampered Judge on and off over his career. Since 2017, his first full season in the big leagues, he has played 148 or more games five times. He's been at or under 112 games in six seasons (with one of those being the shortened COVID season).

He's going to miss extended time now in 2026, and that will be a blow to his team and fantasy owners. Judge's stats explain why.

In 59 games and 261 plate appearances so far this season, he has a .248 average, but a .375 on-base percentage. He has a career .291 average and .411 OBP, so he's underwhelmed a bit so far this season - now I wonder how long this injury has been hampering him.

He has 53 total hits this season, including 17 home runs and 10 doubles. Judge has 38 RBIs, 43 runs scored, five stolen bases, 42 walks and 72 strikeouts.

Judge might have underwhelmed a touch when on the field so far, but him being out is not going to help anyone.

How to Approach Judge

Losing a top-end draft pick like Judge can derail fantasy seasons, especially if you aren't a top-end team now (I'm in that boat with one of my teams). You aren't going to be able to replace him with a waiver wire option, and selling him in a trade means you are selling him low - still, trading him away might get you the best player in return.

Anyways, Judge is one to roster through his time on the injured list. He's likely to be put on the 10-day IL, and then after 4-6 weeks, we'll know when he is expected to return. You need to roster him through that stretch at least, even if you don't have an IR spot to stash him in - stash him at the end of your bench.

There's a chance Judge is dropped eventually, but I'd only make that move after trying to sell him away first. If you are worried about him returning in 2026, then selling him now might actually make some sense. I still don't like selling Judge low, but maybe you can get a Yankee fan, or huge Judge fan, to part ways with him for a decent return.

I'd only drop Judge if he's out a lot longer than those 4-6 weeks. If when being re-imaged he is then out a couple more months, then Judge could be dropped if needed. I'm holding out hope that he's back by the end of July or early August, which is more than enough time to utilize him down the stretch as you chase a fantasy title.

The Yankees Without Judge

As for the Yankees, they are going to miss their captain. He's not a player you can replace, and it means the offense and team overall aren't as daunting to face until he's back in the lineup.

Spencer Jones, who was up with the big league team earlier this year, is a good possibility to replace Judge on the roster. He'd be worth adding in some fantasy leagues if he's Judge's replacement. But don't be expecting Jones, or any Yankees, to have much better fantasy outlooks while Judge is out.

The big slugger missing time hurts the fantasy outlooks for all Yankees' hitters for the time being. There will still be good fantasy options in the lineup, but down Judge, opposing pitchers can attack lineups with more confidence.

Look for Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger to lead the offense in the meantime - they have already this season, with both guys being better fantasy assets than Judge.

Guys like Trent Grisham, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Caballero and others will need to step up in order for the Yankees to keep up their winning ways. It'd be a good time for the Yankees to get Giancarlo Stanton or Jasson Dominguez back, because any help is useful in a time like this.

Really, it's going to be the pitching staff that will have to hold things together for the Yankees while Judge is out. Luckily, the team is healthier there now, and has the likes of Cam Schlittler, Max Fried (when he returns from injury) and Gerrit Cole to lead the rotation and a decent bullpen that ends with closer David Bednar.

I expect the Yankees to stick in the hunt for an AL East title, but probably to more be battling for a Wild Card spot. They are a half-game behind the Rays right now, and well ahead of the other three teams in the division.

There's enough talent on the roster to remain in the playoff hunt, even if that's just the Wild Card hunt. If Judge can return in a couple months, then New York should have no problem making the playoffs still. However, too many more injuries to top-end talents could derail things, so I'll be intrigued to see if the Yankees make an early trade to bolster their depth.