Category: Sports News

A verdict has finally arrived on Aaron Judge’s injury. 

The Yankees captain has been diagnosed with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side, the team said Thursday night.

He will be relegated to rest and limited activity and then be re-imaged in about four to six weeks to determine how much improvement he has made and what his next steps might be. 

“Judge is expected to return at some point this season,” the team said in its statement. 

While losing the three-time American League MVP for likely at least two months is a serious blow, it may not be the worst-case scenario after the Yankees had been consulting with a specialist whose focus was on vascular procedures including thoracic outlet syndrome — which may have required season-ending surgery. 

Instead, this diagnosis gives Judge a chance to play again this season, though the Yankees will have a 6-foot-7, 282-pound-sized hole to fill in the meantime. 

Judge, who has not played since Sunday after the shoulder soreness he had experienced in recent weeks came to a head, underwent tests on Monday and then an additional MRI exam on Wednesday night at CT scan and X-ray Thursday morning.

The Yankees were left holding their breath during the four-day saga while waiting for a concrete diagnosis, a process that took longer than they had hoped. 

“Best hitter in the sport, and obviously what he means to us [is huge],” manager Aaron Boone said earlier on Thursday before the final diagnosis was announced. “There’s a void there, but we also have really good players that can pick it up, too. 

“You’re not replacing Aaron Judge though.” 

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

Judge was not fully hitting like himself so far this season — likely in part because he was playing through the injury — but still had 17 home runs and a .907 OPS in 59 games. 

Last season, Judge missed 10 games with a flexor strain in his right elbow and 42 games in 2023 with a torn ligament in his big right toe after running into the wall at Dodger Stadium to make a catch. But this threatens to cost him more games than either of those injuries, meaning the Yankees will have to find a way to keep winning without him. 

Since Judge became a regular in 2017, the Yankees have gone 652-442 with him in the lineup versus 137-127 when he is not. 

They have better depth than they have had in years, which could give them a better chance of surviving Judge’s absence. Ben Rice has emerged as one of the top hitters in the game, finishing Thursday with the second-highest OPS (a Judge-like 1.031) in the majors. Cody Bellinger has been an all-around standout, the most valuable player in the team by WAR.

Veteran Paul Goldschmidt, who came into the season as Rice’s backup, has been a critical right-handed bat to help them withstand Giancarlo Stanton’s month-plus on the injured list. 

Of course, the Yankees now need Stanton to get through the rest of his rehab from a right calf strain without any hiccups — he could be about 10 days to two weeks away from becoming an option — and the same for Jasson Domínguez, who could return next week from an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder. 

But even if they get the best from all of those players — plus those who have under-performed to date, like Jazz Chisholm Jr. — they are not Judge. 

“It kind of sucks not having a three-time MVP in your lineup,” Chisholm said after a 2-1 win over the Guardians. “But at the same time, we all know we can’t use it as an excuse. We’re all baseball players and we got to go out there and win a game.” 

Earlier on Thursday, the Yankees had been waiting to hear back from vascular specialist Dr. Gregory Pearl, who reviewed Judge’s images, hoping to rule out an extreme diagnosis like thoracic outlet syndrome.

They appear to have at least avoided that for now, which is the best news to come out of announcing that one of the best players in the game could miss months. 

“You really miss a player like that, not only out on the field, [but] in the clubhouse and in the dugout, different things like that from a leadership standpoint,” Ryan McMahon said. “You’re always going to miss an Aaron Judge. But it’s on us. We got to hold it down.”

These Atlanta Braves sure have a knack for winning just enough games to take a series.

After winning the first two games at home against the Toronto Blue Jays to win their 17th series of the season, they sputtered out at the plate in a 7-2 loss to the Blue Jays in Thursday night’s finale.

Of those copious series wins, only two have been sweeps — which they haven’t done since May 1-3 at Colorado.

It’s at least somewhat true that the final score was not indicative of the competitiveness of the game. The Blue Jays blew open what had been a contested battle with a four-run ninth off Reynaldo López, scoring all of the runs with two outs.

But that inning made what was a lopsided offensive showing more like it probably should have on the scoreboard based on the hit column.

The Braves allowed a season-high-tying 16 hits to Toronto, which saw each of its top eight hitters in the lineup notch at least one hit and was 7-for-18 with runners in scoring position.

Atlanta’s offense, by comparison, managed just four hits and was 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

That was certainly surprising given the pitching matchup. The Braves started Chris Sale, while Toronto opened with reliever Mason Fluharty before turning it over to Chad Dallas, making his major league debut after he was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo earlier in the day.

Dallas managed the Braves pretty well, getting out of a runner-on-third, one-out situation he inherited and allowing one run on two hits over 3 2/3 innings. And Toronto’s bullpen then really shut the door on the Braves, retiring 12 of 13 Braves over their final four innings at the plate.

All of the Blue Jays’ scoring before the ninth came in a three-run third where they put five straight runners on base with one out. The rally began with the only extra-base hit of the inning, a double by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Singles by Kazuma Okamoto and Charles McAdoo followed before a hit-by-pitch of Nathan Lukes and a two-run single off Myles Straw’s bat.

That was certainly the tone of Sale’s outing. He wasn’t consistently hit hard but Toronto racked up 10 hits (his season high allowed) over 5 2/3 innings. His three earned runs allowed were his most since allowing six against the Angels on April 6.

Once again, run support was a totally uncontrollable problem for Sale, who fell to 3-3 over his last six starts despite posting a 2.15 ERA over that span.

The Braves got a run right back in the bottom of the third after Ronald Acuña Jr. led off with a single, stole second for his 14th swipe of the season (and third in as many nights), advanced to third on a Mauricio Dubón single and came home on Matt Olson’s sacrifice fly.

Speaking of Dubón, he built off last night’s go-ahead homer by notching two of Atlanta’s four hits. His second hit was an eighth-inning solo homer to snap a streak of 14 straight batters retired which dated back to the final out of the third.

After Dubón had one homer in May, he has two in his first three June games.

At first, the Braves’ bullpen gave the offense a chance to come to life. Didier Fuentes got out of a jam he inherited in the sixth before delivering a scoreless seventh, and Dylan Dodd worked through the eighth without incident.

But López’s ninth inning that got away from him dug way too deep a hole for an offense which never found its gear after a strong showing in Wednesday’s series-clinching win.

Up Next

No rest for these Braves, who will stay at home to host the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend. Pittsburgh entered Thursday’s series finale against Houston having won four of five.

Aaron Judge will be out through at least the All-Star break after he was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side, the New York Yankees announced Thursday, June 4. 

Judge, the three-time American League MVP, has undergone significant testing since last playing in a game May 31. The club announced Thursday that his test results would be reviewed by a thoracic outlet syndrome specialist, and the announcement of the rib fracture came several hours later. 

The Yankees said Judge's injury will require a period of "rest and limited activity," and Judge will be reexamined in four to six weeks; the lone timeline offered by the club was that Judge is "expected to return sometime this season." 

It's unclear whether the stress fracture would ultimately require removal of the rib, a surgical procedure that would likely sideline Judge for the remainder of the season. Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler was diagnosed with vacuous TOS and underwent removal of the rib last September; he did not pitch in a regular season game until April 25. 

Judge, 34, won his second consecutive AL MVP last season when he led the majors in batting (.331), on-base (.457) and slugging (.688) and hit 53 home runs. He was off to a similarly powerful start this season, with 17 home runs in 59 games, though his OPS of .907 - while still elite - is off his 1.144 pace of 2025. 

Minus Judge, the Yankees lost two of three games to the Cleveland Guardians. They started Jose Caballero in right field the first two games of the series, then moved Caballero to shortstop, benched Anthony Volpe and gave Max Schuemann a start in right. Judge's production will be virtually impossible to replace, and the extent of Judge's injury and length of absence may frame the extent to which they seek offensive reinforcements at the August trade deadline. 

New York enters the weekend 37-25, a half-game behind Tampa Bay in the AL East.  

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Judge injury timeline revealed by Yankees in latest update

The Yankees will be without Aaron Judge for some time.

After days of imaging and re-imaging, the Yankees announced Thursday night that the two-time AL MVP has a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side. 

"He will be reimaged in approximately four to six weeks to determine the level of healing and appropriate next steps," the team wrote in a statement. " Judge is expected to return at some point this season."

Judge was missing from the team's series opener against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday when manager Aaron Boonerevealed that Judge had been dealing with a bone bruise in his upper right rib and was feeling it through his right shoulder. 

“He’s been, kind of the last couple of weeks, dealing with some shoulder soreness, just kind of nagging,” Boone said at the time. “And then over the weekend, the last couple of games in Sacramento, I think it became a little more than that, where I noticed on some swings and stuff."

 For days, the Yankees and their fans were waiting for the results of the imaging. 

Judge missed the entire Guardians series, in which the Yankees went 1-2, and will now be without their captain for quite some time.

The 34-year-old has had a solid season so far, but has scuffled of late. Over his last seven games, Judge has just one home run and is hitting 7-for-26 (.269). He has only one home run in his last 18 games. 

Overall, Judge is hitting .248 with 17 home runs and 38 RBI to go with his .908 OPS this season.

As for Judge replacements, the Yankees hope to get back Giancarlo Stanton and Jasson Dominguez soon. Dominguez is set to start his rehab assignment on Friday and Boone said Thursday that he expects to continue into next week. It's unclear if the news on Judge has shifted Dominguez's timeline.

For Stanton, the slugger is seemingly further away. The former NL MVP continues to have live BP and his running ramp-up, and the Yankees skipper conceded earlier this week that it could be a couple of more weeks before Stanton returns to the team. 

Spencer Jones, who had a cup of coffee with the club when Dominguez landed on the IL, could receive the promotion again. 

Across 10 games with the club, Jones went 4-for-24 (all singles) with three walks, two RBI, one stolen base and 12 strikeouts. 

Brayan Bello does not want to hear any more talk about his role on the Red Sox.

Bello, 27, allowed eight runs and walked three through five innings of work in Boston’s 8-2 loss to the Orioles on Thursday before being optioned to Triple-A Worcester, according to multiple reports.

Following the loss, Bello told reporters that he wants people to “stop talking” about whether he is a starting pitcher or a reliever.

“Just stop talking about bullpen and starting games,” Bello said through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez, according to MassLive. “I’ve always been a starter. And when I’ve been successful as a starter, nobody has questioned whether I have to be in the bullpen or starting games.”

Questions have arisen about Bello potentially pitching out of the Red Sox’s bullpen due to his abysmal 10.35 ERA through eight starts. In comparison, he has a 0.71 ERA as a bulk reliever while pitching after an opener.

Bello did acknowledge that he’s been having a “bad season” so far, but insisted that he would be able to recover going forward.

“Just stop that talk because I’m just having a bad season. That’s it,” Bello said. “It’s not whether I’m a starter or I’m a reliever. I’m just having a bad season. But I know I can turn it around. I always have. And I think I will.”

When asked if a short stint in the minors would help him figure things out, Bello said, “I’m not thinking about that.”

“I’m thinking about making my adjustments in the big leagues,” he added. “I have a big league contract. That doesn’t mean the bosses … will take that into consideration. But I’m a big leaguer. I’m a big league starting pitcher. And I’ll make my adjustments here.”

With the Red Sox sending him down to Triple-A, it appears that Bello will have no choice but to figure it out in the minor leagues.

Following Thursday’s game, Bello holds a 2-6 record with a 6.34 ERA across 61 innings pitched this season, noticeably worse than last year for the righty, who pitched to a 3.35 ERA through 28 starts in 2025.

“I don’t really know what’s going on,” Bello said. “I think I have the same mentality whether I’m starting or relieving.

“So obviously I don’t know.”

Two nights removed from an excellent performance in his first game at Triple-A Syracuse, Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez had a night to forget as he works back from torn meniscus surgery in his right knee. 

Alvarez was 0-for-4 tonight with three strikeouts, caught looking on one of them. His only other at-bat ended in a groundout to short.

Since Alvarez went under the knife on May 14, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza has made it clear that his everyday catcher has to prove he's able to play back-to-back games in the minors before he is reactivated from the IL.

In Alvarez's absence, fellow Venezuelan Luis Torrens has been thrust into the starting role behind the plate. He was signed to a two-year, $11.5 million contract extension less than two weeks before Alvarez sustained his injury.

While Torrens has been struggling mightily at the plate, slashing .220/.287/.578, he is an excellent defensive catcher, ranking in the 94th percentile of all qualified MLB catchers for fielding run value (per Baseball Savant).

Meanwhile, DH Jorge Polanco, still yet to return to the Mets lineup as he recovers from Achilles bursitis and a wrist issue, was left out of the Syracuse lineup tonight.

Outfielder Nick Morabito was also on the bench for tonight's game. Ryan Clifford served as the team's DH and went hitless.

In the end, the Syracuse Mets walked it off to take the win against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 3-2 the final. 

For the RailRiders, top Yankees prospect George Lombard Jr. batted leadoff and went 2-for-4, while Spencer Jones was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.

Don't run on Alvy!

Francisco Alvarez nabs Duke Ellis for his second straight rehab game catching a runner stealing! pic.twitter.com/radGUULHXt

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 4, 2026

PHOENIX –– Shohei Ohtani’s sub-1.00 ERA so far this season is even more impressive than it initially appeared.

Turns out, the two-way star has been nursing a small blister on the inside of his right middle finger.

The good news: The blister does not appear to be much of an issue.

In a scoreless six-inning start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night, Ohtani was seen picking at his finger during the outing. A close-up photo of his hand later emerged from when he was sitting in the dugout.

However, manager Dave Roberts said he “didn’t hear too much about it after the game” and “don’t expect it to affect him going forward.”

“He’s dealt with it for the last couple starts,” Roberts said. “Thomas [Albert, the team’s head trainer] just kind of gives me information on how he’s feeling. And every time I’ve asked, it’s been a non-issue.”

Asked specifically if the blister was to blame for Ohtani’s recently inconsistent command –– he had walked eight total batters in his three previous starts before Wednesday, when he issued just one free pass –– Roberts again downplayed its impact.

“I don’t think so,” Roberts said. “When his command has been off, I think it’s a bigger thing than just a blister. Because it’s a small blister, it’s small. That’s just when his mechanics are out of whack.”

Despite all that, Ohtani has continued his dominant start to the year on the mound, returning to full-time pitching duties with a nearly historic 0.74 ERA through his first 10 starts.

“He’s the best player that’s ever walked this earth,” catcher Will Smith said after Wednesday’s game.

Ohtani was out of the Dodgers’ lineup for Thursday’s series finale against the Dbacks, getting the kind of scheduled day off that might become more common the days following his pitching starts.

“Just the overall body soreness and fatigue is something that, if we can manage that, it kind of gives us a chance to get through the next days after,” Roberts said earlier this week.

At the start of the year, the Dodgers had attempted a different strategy to manage Ohtani’s two-way workload, keeping him out of the batting order in three of his early-season pitching outings before having him DH again the day after.

But last month, the club changed course, keeping Ohtani out of the lineup as DH for both his May 13 pitching start and the day immediately after. In each of his three pitching starts since then, he has played both ways, then gotten rest the day after.

“I think him knowing he’s down tomorrow is mentally freeing going into tonight,” Roberts said before Wednesday’s game, when Ohtani also reached base five times as a hitter (three singles, two walks) to push his batting average back over .300. “So, there is some value in him knowing he can empty the tank and know that he doesn’t have to go to it tomorrow as well. 

With Will Smith filling in as the DH, the Dodgers play the Diamondbacks before returning home.

Thursday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Diamondbacks
• Ballpark: Chase Field, Phoenix
• Start time: 6:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

We now know that the St. Louis Cardinals will finally have Lars Nootbaar back in the Major League lineup as he’s being activated for the homestand versus the Cincinnati Reds starting Friday night. There’s been a lot of discussion about what that will mean for the roster moving forward, but I’d like to focus on something that Lars Nootbaar’s return gives the team that statistics cannot track.

In case you missed the announcement that was reported on by MLB Trade Rumors, Lars Nootbaar is headed back to St. Louis. No additional roster move was required because St. Louis sent rule 5 pick Matt Pushard back to the Marlins. The expectation is that Lars will take over his spot in left field which has been covered by Jose Fermin, Bryan Torres, Nelson Velázquez and Thomas Saggese since Nathan Church was injured. There’s a good chance that Lars will be slotted 5th, 6th or 7th in the batting order which should be an upgrade over the production from the bottom of the lineup so far this season. These are important and tangible differences that having Lars back will make for the St. Louis Cardinals.

May I introduce one other factor that I haven’t seen mentioned so far about what Lars Nootbaar’s return will provide the St. Louis Cardinals? If I were one of the Sabermetrics experts here in the VEB community (spoiler alert: I’m not), I’d call my intangible metric TOE. Tarps Off Energy.

One of my favorite parts of the St. Louis Cardinals 2026 season compared to the past 3 years is the competitive energy that the team’s young players bring to the table. I can count on one hand the number of games this year where I’ve felt the team lacked intensity. Now, imagine Lars Nootbaar bringing his personality and fire to what we’ve already seen this season. I can’t wait.

I was not surprised to see ESPN mention today that they believe Lars will become a trade deadline candidate if he stays healthy. That may be so and I don’t disagree that the team should listen to offers and move if the right one is presented. I have to wonder if his playing time between now and the trade deadline is enough to show his value to another team. There’s also the issue of whether Lars can remain healthy which has been his challenge for the past few seasons. However, even if that happens, that gives Lars nearly two months to make a positive impact on the Cardinals young lineup.

Having a career 9.4 WAR player added to the bottom of the lineup which needs help can only be a good thing. There are many that believe Nootbaar being back will also enable the Cardinals to move Victor Scott II back to the minors for more development time once Nathan Church is able to return in the next week or so and I don’t disagree. But, I still believe one of the biggest pluses of having Lars Nootbaar back with the St. Louis Cardinals active roster is the energy he will bring. Let’s hope his positive mojo will be like adding fuel to an already burning fire this young team has already shown.