Breaking Down New York Yankees’ 6’7″ Star Aaron Judge’s Turbulent Injury History

Ahead of 2022, Brian Cashman offered Aaron Judge a $230 million contract for eight years. But after various rounds of negotiations, the star outfielder turned down the contract, with reports stating that he expected a longer, and wealthier contract. But there were always doubts about offering Judge, who was running 30 at the time of negotiations, a longer contract, given his history with injuries.

Nevertheless, in 2022, Aaron Judge smashed 62 homers, broke Roger Maris’ record from 1961, and as a result, signed a whopping $360 million contract with the Yankees for nine years. And even appointed Judge as the Yankees’ leader. But a little over a month into 2023, Judge was on the bench due to an injury, and looking back, the Yanks front office may have a few question marks about the $360 million contracts. 

While the Yankees have found themselves in an increasingly difficult spot with mounting injuries to their captain, a deeper look into Judge’s injury history deserves special mention. 

How often has Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge been injured in his career?

Throughout his career, the Yankees’ right fielder, Aaron Judge, has suffered injuries on a relatively frequent basis. However, it’s crucial to emphasize that he shouldn’t be classified as “injury-prone” since the types of injuries he has experienced have been a combination of degenerative issues and unexpected occurrences.

Due to his exceptional physical stature, measuring 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 282 lbs, Judge has become far more likely to get injured. It’s no surprise that since 2018, All Rise has suffered 13 injuries!

What injuries has Aaron Judge had in his career?

Judge was the apple of every Yankee’s eye ever since his debut. While the 2017 season proved to be a major breakout, things started withering for him in 2018. From that season till the advent of 2022, Judge’s career was marred with lengthy absences due to his increasing presence on the injury list. As of now, a total of thirteen injuries have affected All Rise and nearly his whole body has felt the pain.

In 2018, the superstar had his first entry on the injury list when he injured his right wrist and had a chip fracture. Ever since then, injuries have been a constant part of Judge’s career. In the following years, he injured his Oblique, shoulder, lower body, calf, side, back, hip, and toe. To top it all off, Judge also contacted Covid 19 in 2021. However, not all of those injuries caused major worries. Only a few raised eyebrows.

Aaron Judge suffered from a mild hip strain

While taking on the Twins in an away game in Minnesota, Aaron Judge hurt his wrist while sliding into third. However, that’s not the only part of the body he hurt. The next day, when the Yankees took on the Texas Rangers in another away game, Judge had to leave the game midway due to discomfort in his right hip.

At the start, both Aaron Judge and skipper Aaron Boone claimed that the injury was not a big deal and that the outfielder would be back in no time. However, for a while. Judge was neither on the IL, nor was there any update on his return, and the Yanks slid to the bottom of the AL East.

Read more: New York Yankees’ Inspired Off-Season Efforts – Aaron Judge’s Leadership and Determination for Redemption

Did Aaron Judge break his wrist?

Making his New York Yankees debut in 2016, Aaron Judge’s first big injury came in 2018, when Aaron Judge fractured his wrist in a rather freak accident. The Yanks had a subpar start to the season in 2018, just like this year. By July, the Pinstripes made some headway and closed in on the Red Sox.

But in a game against the Kansas City Royals, a fastball by Jakob Junis struck Judge’s wrist, which put him on the IL for two months. By the time Judge returned, it was too late, and even though the Yanks beat Oakland in the wild-card game, they lost 1-3 to their rivals, the Boston Red Sox, in the Division Series.

Aaron Judge collapsed lung and rib issue

When Judge reported to spring training in 2020, he was experiencing ambiguous discomfort that was neither wrist nor oblique or shoulder. No diagnosis detected what the pain was, which didn’t help the cause.

Eventually, the Yankees were able to identify the root cause of Judge’s condition: a cracked rib that was officially classified as a stress fracture, and a collapsed lung known as pneumothorax. The diving play he made against the Angels in September 2019 was likely responsible for these injuries.

The 2020 season got pushed due to the pandemic, and Judge ended up playing 28 games in the shortened season. If this diagnosis is accurate, it means that Judge played through extreme pain during the entire postseason of 2019.

Read more: 2017: The Breakout Year Paving Aaron Judge’s Path to Yankees Captaincy and Greatness

Aaron Judge’s shoulder surgery

In 2017, Judge’s second season as a Yankee, he had announced himself by smashing 52 homers and leading the AL homer charts. But following the grand Home Run Derby, Judge went downhill. 

Notably, Judge iced his shoulder very often, despite nothing seeming wrong. But as the offseason eventually revealed, Judge had to undergo arthroscopic surgery to solve the problem after the 2017 postseason.

The big toe injury that ruined the Bronx season

June 3, 2023, Aaron Judge got injured while making a spectacular play during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers hitter J.D. Martinez had hit a huge flyball over the right field. With the Yankees’ lead at risk of being lost, Judge leaped for the ball and made a ridiculous catch. But during all of this, the captain rammed through the stadium’s gate.

Trainers immediately checked up on Judge (for a possible shoulder injury) but he stayed on the field. Eventually, Judge hit a homer in the 9th inning. However, after the game was over, ‌something was amiss. The Bronx Bombers put Judge on the injury list for two days, citing “strain” on his right toe. Eventually, reports revealed that Judge had actually torn a ligament of a right big toe. 

Overall Judge missed over 50 games in 2023 due to injuries and 42 of those were due to this toe injury. The Bronx Bombers missed their first playoff in 6 years. With an 82-80 record, they had their worst season since 1992. However, the impact of this injury wasn’t limited to only that season. The 2024 Spring Training showed that damage was far from being over for the 2022 AL MVP.

Read more: Aaron Judge’s Shortened Spring Game Kicks Yankees Injury Rumor Mill Into Overdrive

“Beat up” All Rise raises the Yankees’ worries 

After Juan Soto’s arrival, it was gradually decided that Judge would play in the Center Field. This decision raised a few eyebrows as All Rise’s injury history didn’t support playing in a tougher position. However, the Yankees Captain was up for the challenge. But he revealed during a presser that his toe injury was there for the long haul. 

Judge shared that his toe will require “constant maintenance” throughout his career. This raised even more worries in the hearts of the Bronx Faithful. The issue was that Judge used his right foot to push himself forward. It was the source of his power. As a result, one wondered if it would affect his hitting prowess. 

Spring Training didn’t soothe those worries as Judge’s had only two hits in 14 at-bats till now. However, the real trouble came when Aaron Boone revealed that Judge was feeling “beat up” during Spring Training. As a result, his at-bats were reduced, and All Rise was given some Spring Training rest. Later it was revealed that the issue lay in his abdominal muscles. While the MRI came out to be normal, the superstar is looking to slowly ease himself back to the plate.

With the Bronx Bombers aiming to end their World Series drought, the captain’s growing injury list isn’t a good sign. Do the Yankees have a reason to worry or is this recent “beat up” feeling just a false alarm? Answers will be revealed soon as things begin to take shape for the start of the regular season.

Read more: In Yankees Injury Pit of Despair, Aaron Judge Reveals Ominous MRI Amplifying Gerrit Cole Woes