Aaron Judge still 'couple weeks' from reimaging on fractured ribs, Boone says

What happened

Aaron Judge is not yet close enough to reimaging for the Yankees to schedule it. On Tuesday, manager Aaron Boone appeared on an episode of "Talkin' Yanks" and said Judge is "probably a couple weeks still from reimaging" on his fractured ribs — a timeline that, per Yahoo Sports, pushes the slugger toward the back end of the four-to-six week window established when the injury was diagnosed on June 4.

Boone's framing was deliberate: the reimaging is not a calendar appointment but a threshold. Per Yahoo Sports, Boone described the decision as one the medical staff will make based on what Judge is able to do — once he is doing enough, they will schedule the imaging. "We're not at that point yet," Boone said.

The more encouraging note arrived in the same breath. Boone said Judge is "feeling a lot better this week" and has begun lower-body work in the weight room, and is moving better, per Yahoo Sports.

Why it matters

The Yankees are carrying a 93-68 record and sitting 4.5 games back in the AL East — a division race they have been eliminated from — while holding the top Wild Card spot at +9.5 relative to the cut line. That cushion is real, but it is not infinite, and the club is navigating the stretch run without its most prominent bat.

The reimaging step is not a formality. Until the imaging is completed, the Yankees cannot meaningfully map out what a rehab progression looks like, which means the uncertainty compounds: first the imaging has to happen, then the results have to be interpreted, then a plan gets built. Boone's "couple weeks" estimate for the imaging alone means the full return timeline remains genuinely open-ended, and Yahoo Sports' reporting preserves that uncertainty rather than projecting a return date.

The distinction Boone drew is worth holding onto. The medical staff, per Yahoo Sports, will determine when Judge is doing enough to warrant scheduling the scan — it is a performance threshold, not a fixed date. That framing means the "couple weeks" figure is an approximation, not a commitment, and the Yankees are not in a position to say more than that right now.

The numbers

New York's record stands at 93-68 (.578), good for second place in the AL East and the top Wild Card position in the American League. The +9.5 margin relative to the Wild Card cut line offers meaningful breathing room, and the club enters Tuesday's home game against the Detroit Tigers on a one-game winning streak.

The Wild Card standing is worth sitting with for a moment. A +9.5 cushion above the cut line is the kind of number that makes roster patience easier to justify — the Yankees are not in a position where every game demands a fully healthy lineup just to stay afloat. That context shapes how the club can afford to manage Judge's recovery without rushing the process.

Where the club stands

New York sits 4.5 games behind the AL East leader, a gap that has effectively ended their division title pursuit. The Wild Card standing, however, is a different conversation: +9.5 games above the cut line is a position most clubs would accept without negotiation.

The upcoming schedule keeps the Yankees at home. Tuesday brings Cam Schlittler to the mound against Detroit's Tarik Skubal at Yankee Stadium. Wednesday, Will Warren is the probable starter against Troy Melton. The home stand continues Friday when Gerrit Cole is lined up against Minnesota's Mike Paredes. Three home games against two American League opponents — the kind of stretch where the standings can shift quietly in either direction.

When does Judge return?

Not soon, and not precisely. Per Yahoo Sports, the four-to-six week timetable was set at diagnosis on June 4, and Boone's Tuesday update places the reimaging itself still roughly two weeks out. The reimaging is a prerequisite, not a finish line — once completed, it will inform how the Yankees structure whatever comes next in Judge's recovery. Until that imaging happens and the results are assessed, the club's own stated position is that they do not yet know how to proceed with his rehab.

General roster mechanics are worth understanding here: a position player on the injured list can be placed on the 60-day IL, which removes him from the 40-man count and creates roster flexibility. A rehab assignment for a position player runs up to 20 days before a decision must be made. None of those specifics have been attached to Judge's situation in Yahoo Sports' reporting — they are simply the structural levers available to any club managing a long-term IL case.

What we don't know yet

The Yankees do not yet know what the reimaging will show. They do not have a target date for when Judge might begin baseball activities. The "couple weeks" estimate for the imaging is Boone's characterization, not a medical clearance or a club announcement, and Yahoo Sports' reporting treats it accordingly.

What the lower-body work signals about Judge's overall trajectory is also unspecified. Boone noted the improvement and the weight-room activity, but neither he nor the reporting draws a line from increased mobility to any particular next step. That distinction matters: feeling better and being cleared to progress are related but not identical, and nothing in the reporting conflates them.

What to watch

The reimaging appointment, whenever it comes, is the next meaningful data point. Once that happens, the Yankees will have something concrete to communicate about Judge's rehab path — and the club's public posture will almost certainly shift from "a couple weeks from imaging" to something more specific about baseball activities.

In the meantime, watch how the Yankees manage their roster construction through the stretch run. With the Wild Card lead sitting at +9.5, the club has room to be patient, but the trade deadline and the demands of a postseason push have a way of accelerating conversations. Whether Judge factors into any of that calculus depends entirely on what the imaging eventually shows.

Boone's Tuesday update, per Yahoo Sports, was measured and honest: better, but not there yet. For a club that has already been eliminated from the division race and is leaning on its Wild Card position, that is the most accurate summary of where things stand.